


is there color in your world?

by agosu



Category: Haikyuu!!, ハイキュー
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Mutual Pining, a bit of angst?, inarizaki wingmen, kinda clueless too, suna in denial, they get frustrated a bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 10:54:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 40,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25968448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agosu/pseuds/agosu
Summary: so many colors he's never even heard of. so many colors she admires every day. so many colors to choose from, but suna's favorite color is always [name].
Relationships: Suna Rintarou/Reader
Comments: 78
Kudos: 328
Collections: Haikyuu!!





	1. gainsboro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's the color of the sky.

**t** **he clouds were** painted a soft shade of grey, spreading across the landscape and stretching into the distance. the water droplets tapped gently against suna's black umbrella as he made his way back home after volleyball practice.

against his cheeks, the cooling breeze was kind while brushing on his skin and he closed his eyes briefly to welcome it. so much tiring training left him burning up even during cold, rainy afternoons.

his shoes sank into forming puddles, carelessly splashing dirty water to the sides. he admired the usual scenery of his walk, now painted in a dimmer light as the sun hid behind walls of grey.

the leaves on the trees boasted a deep green, richer than the one he'd seen the day before. the cement of inarizaki high-school's entrance soaked up the falling rain and became darker by the second. the sky didn't glare back at him when he shifted his sights upwards. the benches beneath the blooming cherry blossoms had turned into an intense brown, easily winning against the dull tone of the mud sticking to his soles.

winter was saying its last _see you soon_ until december with some petty rain, before allowing spring to take over april completely. pale pink petals fluttered to the ground, and for once suna found them charming rather than corny.

cherry blossoms meant new beginnings, but everything always stayed the same. a first-year or a second-year, the number on his jersey being a ten or any other, a change in captains, a different ace; it was all the same. seeing the flowers fall earlier than usual reminded him of that thought.

his gaze traveled from the petals withering on the floor to the trees losing their frilly clothing. although he appreciated the scenery, he couldn't be bothered to stop and admire it completely. but he did glance down at one of the benches when unexpected movement caught his eye.

a girl clad in the inarizaki uniform sat resting her back against the wet bench. her face pointed up to the open sky, and her stretched arms followed the same direction briefly before settling by her sides.

suna shrugged his shoulders to himself at the sight of a random girl dripping wet underneath the chilling rain. he remained walking on his path, his attention focused again on the school gates far ahead.

even if it took him longer than he thought it would, his brain finally processed the information. on any other day, he would've kept walking without regarding the girl on the bench. but she had talked to him earlier during class—ah, that was it. she was in his class. she had sat on osamu's empty chair and asked a weird question.

 _ **[surname] [name],**_ **his** mind recalled as he stared blankly at the girl in front of him. while he waited patiently for osamu to make his way back from the vending machine, a fellow classmate took the liberty of occupying his friend's seat. her arms folded atop the backrest and her shoulders hunched.

he heard giggles and not-so-silent shushing behind him. it happened often. a poor girl being forced by her friends to make a move on the famous volleyball players at school. playing for a powerhouse brought with it some fame. sometimes he didn't care much about it; sometimes things like this happened.

he didn't need to hear the story to know what was going on. innocent [surname] had naively spilled she liked suna the most out of all the members from the volleyball club. some people preferred either of the twins, others went for the powerful ace, maybe the cute libero, or even the mature captain. and sometimes, miraculously, unfortunately, someone chose suna.

"i've been wonderin', suna-kun," [surname] started. ah, here it came. surprisingly, there was no hormonal-teenager blush or cutesy finger-fidgeting. he made eye contact with her and her lids narrowed. here it came. "is there color in yer world?"

…or maybe not. that was a weird question if he'd ever heard one. a complete left-fielder, sweeping in to smack him sharply on the nape a nearly give him whiplash.

suna limited himself to lifting a brow in mild confusion. he saw how she trapped her inner cheek between her teeth and gently nibbled at it. a faint hum sounded. her eyes trailed down to his pale hands on the desk, averted to her friends at the back of the room, and finally met him again.

she released her cheek, her lips parting slightly. suna noted how unnecessarily intense her staring was. she glared into him, unblinking. he opened up his mouth when it became unnerving.

[surname] finally blinked as she straightened her back. her gaze softened. "i've been watchin'." suna bit his tongue at the unexpected statement. "no offense, suna-kun, but ya seem all black and white to me; so colorless."

suna wondered if he could take offense in words he didn't understand. he didn't get a chance to voice his growing puzzlement as [surname] kept talking.

"you've really dark hair, almost black, and yer skin's so pale s'almost white. the uniform here also makes a perfect fit, save for the maroon, but that's beside the point."

"what _is_ the point?"

[surname] returned to her unnerving staring, using her intense eyes to burn suna into a crisp. he found himself glaring back at a cat, watching as its pupils dilated and its gaze was swallowed by darkness. the odd comparison amused him.

with one robotic blink, the cat's pupils shrank and [surname]'s eyes became soft again. a smile pulled at her lips as she spoke, "just wonderin' if there's more to yer world than shades."

how was anyone supposed to reply to that? it was early morning, osamu was taking forever with the vending machine, and this girl he'd never seen before in his life was babbling weird questions about colors. he should've just skipped classes.

suna mumbled, "i dunno," while shrugging his shoulders.

he noticed the faint tilt of [surname]'s head. "d'ya have a favorite color?" she prodded further. suna couldn't decide whether her weirdly paced blinking was more unsettling than her not blinking at all or not.

every time her lids separated to reveal her sharp irises, he felt as if he were being pricked with a needle. he hadn't the focus to think about her question, instead deeming it more interesting to find an accurate comparison for the harshness of her eyes.

"suna-kun? am i botherin' ya?"

"…no."

was his answer for her first question or for the last one?

[surname] didn't seem to ponder over it as she stood up from osamu's chair. her pupils stung deeper when she loomed above him. "well, if ya ever get bored of the monotony in yer world, ya know where ta find me."

she sauntered back to her friends without waiting for a reply, leaving behind only a weightless smile and a foggy image of her waving hand. suna collapsed onto his desk and closed his eyes while debating if it was worth it to wait for osamu or if he'd much rather take a power nap. behind him, the giggles he had heard when [surname] approached him morphed into booing and defeated moans. he dozed off not a second later.

 **frozen in his** tracks, suna stared with squinted lids at the girl soaking underneath the rain. he hadn't meant to halt for her, but the weird questions from that morning had been tapping on his brain ever since osamu shook him awake. first, her random questioning; now, her sitting under the freezing rain like nobody's business.

seriously, what was this girl's deal?

[surname] slowly lifted her head. those cat-like eyes from earlier hid behind droplets of water dripping from her eyelashes. she batted them away and her brows rose when she recognized suna beneath his black umbrella. if they were to hold a staring contest, [surname] would win without a shadow of doubt. but she blinked once and hung her head backwards again.

the lack of an umbrella in her possession made suna hesitate. he could either leave as if he had seen nothing or offer his fellow classmate a walk home under the shelter of his umbrella. although judging by how she didn't seem one bit bothered as she sat peacefully on the bench, she clearly didn't care much about the rain.

before suna could decide, however, [surname] spoke. "gainsboro," she blurted out. had her voice been just a bit lower, he wouldn't have heard her.

maybe it would've been for the better if he hadn't. but he did. and he couldn't, for the life of his, figure out what she had said. "huh?"

"that's the color of the sky right now. gainsboro," [surname] repeated as if it were a matter of fact. in her head, it probably was. "s'a good start."

suna cocked a brow, pointing his feet towards her seated form. he asked, "for what?"

"for teachin' ya 'bout a colored world." she lifted her head again, although this time at a more natural speed. her eyelashes had gathered water once more, but they quickly fell when she blinked.

[surname] babbled the weirdest things. how was he supposed to reply to a statement like that? what did it even mean? her intense pupils pierced into him. she didn't blink and suna didn't try to find the words to carry on the conversation.

she stood from the bench, leaving a dry spot on the wood where her figure had been. the rain claimed it in an instant. her clothes clung to her body and she used two fingers to half-ass an attempt at fixing them. her strides seemed weightless as she walked to stand before him.

suna listened to the tapping of the droplets on his umbrella, staring blankly at that same rain drenching [surname]. he wondered if it was normal for her to stand under the pouring rain.

"ya should be familiar with this color." a smile painted her lips as she turned her head to the sky. the rain formed rivers on her skin, trailing down her face to her neck and underneath her uniform. she continued, "yer familiar with shades of grey, aren't ya? ain't that how the world looks to ya?"

suna stared at [surname] before tilting his umbrella backwards, still keeping himself dry but allowing a view of the sky. the clouds were light grey. "what's it called?"

"gainsboro."

"i just see grey."

"not surprised," [surname] chuckled. her head returned to its original position, eyes open solely to pierce suna. "but that's no fun. don't gainsboro sound a bit better than plain, borin' grey?"

"it's still grey either way."

[surname] blinked once, tilting her head to the side. suna saw her intense irises bouncing around. her lips puckered as she caught both inner cheeks between her teeth.

he heard a pensive hum before she shrugged. "see ya tomorrow, suna-kun." she waved her hand in the air, already heading towards the school's exit. the rain dripped from her elbow.

he hadn't the chance to call out to her as she became a tiny, drenched speck of black in the distance. it wasn't like he had decided between sharing his umbrella or not, anyway. behind him, suna heard his teammates' feet splash in the puddles on the cement. he peered over his shoulder to see the twins childishly kicking water at each other

aran spotted him standing idly under the rain and beckoned him to join the team on their walk home. suna spared one last glance to the school's exit, where [surname] had disappeared while wringing her hair. the clouds were gainsboro as they stretched farther than his eye could hope to see.


	2. rhythm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's the color of her nonsense.

**some things can** be blessings in disguise. sharing a class with [surname] was a curse in disguise.

suna had been slumping over his desk, fumbling with the snacks osamu had brought from the vending machine. it was a normal, regular morning—and a very early one at that. maybe he could doze off to the beat of the falling rain outside.

he groaned internally at the sound of a strumming guitar. who in their right mind would even dare play an instrument first thing in the morning? he looked up at osamu with half-lidded eyes devoid of emotion. osamu fixated on the back of the classroom.

suna stopped breathing for a second. if his suspicions were correct and [surname] was behind this, he would seriously consider skipping homeroom.

a girl cleared her throat as she walked to the front. _shijiki misae,_ suna recognized her. she held a glue stick wrapped around her left palm. behind him, the guitar made hollow, echoey noises while being mishandled between friends.

"fellow classmates," shijiki began, "will you be so kind as to lend me yer— _your_ eyes and ears?" terrible dialect. suna took it as a personal offense.

all eyes turned to her. the innocent glue stick hovered over her lips as a makeshift microphone. her energetic grin showed off her teeth.

"now that i have your attention, i would like to introduce ya to—dammit—introduce _you_ to our rising star, [name]-chan!"

 _of course_ it was her. shijiki's hand motioned to [surname]'s seat at the back of the room. suna considered knocking himself out with his desk.

shijiki grabbed an empty chair and positioned it where it would stay within everyone's view. resonating in his ears, knocking sounds came from the guitar. "misa-chan," [surname]'s voice rose above the disarray of suffering guitar strings, "c'mon, stop it."

"play somethin' for us, [surname]-chan." that was a boy's voice. was this girl friends with everyone?

"i know only the basics. got bored of it real quick."

the sharp slap of a hand clapping atop clothed skin made suna flinch. he heard [surname] whisper out a whine, and osamu grimaced while hissing in sympathy.

this time, a different girl's voice chirped, "the basics s'enough! go, go!" and [surname] tripped into his field of vision.

with a smile painting her lips, [surname] settled on the chair shijiki had prepared for her. the guitar seemed to fit comfortably in her hand, but not quite perfectly; like a mistaken puzzle piece that clicked together and it took time to realize something was wrong. it belonged, but it didn't.

the pick in her hand glided across the six strings and she mumbled to herself, "is this tuned?" her left fingers fumbled with the fretboard. she zeroed in on it with an intense glare as she began playing.

the room fell silent and all eyes gazed forward at her. her music filled their ears.

suna wasn't by any means a music kid, but even _he_ could recognize the same four chords being repeated in different patterns. [surname] used her voice to distract from her lack of knowledge in acoustic guitar. no words; just nonsense. her inexperience was a blessing in disguise.

whatever _ya pa pa pa_ and _bara bap bap_ meant in her head didn't matter as soon as they left her lips. her _duru du du dududu's_ lulled him to sleep when they blended with the four chords he had already memorized. the rolling of her _r's_ while she failed to add a bit of growl into her array of lyrical nonsense woke him back up.

she halted the reverberation of the strings upon making a mistake. shijiki initiated the claps of praise, inciting—and demanding—everyone around her to follow her.

"ya take requests?" asked the same boy as before.

[surname] grinned at him. the pick in her hand flicked at the fourth string. "i know, like, one song. and s'that _riptide_ song." her words, lost within her sheepish giggles, didn't make much sense to suna. but they elicited collective groans of disgust across the classroom. her english sucked, too.

shijiki moved to stand next to her friend. her hand fell on [surname]'s shoulder. "c'mon, play it. i'll sing."

"yes, ma'am."

[surname]'s presence was both a blessing and a curse—more of a curse than a blessing, but the fact remained. her fingers danced on the fretboard, and suna wondered if they had come alive in that split second he blinked.

shijiki had a nice singing voice, compared to how grating it had sounded earlier as she hollered to catch everyone's attention. the boy that had requested the song joined in. sharing the glue stick, they sang harmoniously in english; words that had the same meaning in their heads and in whoever listened.

maybe, just maybe, [surname]'s lyrical nonsense had been more than a simple blessing.

the nail in the coffin was when some other girl, a friend of [surname]—but then again, who wasn't?—, began drumming on her desk to the beat of the guitar. somehow, someway, almost the whole class became an 8am choir session.

he would miss out on osamu's snacks, but skipping homeroom for the whole year seemed like a very tempting idea. suna tried burying his face into his arms to pretend they were his pillow back home. he would curse that boy's name forever if he remembered it.

the drumming died out first, and the voices followed suit. suna concluded [surname]'s guitar and her _lara la la's_ were, in fact, a blessing in disguise. they both faded slowly and kindly, until all that was left was pleasant silence and peace. he didn't notice his eyes closing.

he snapped them wide open when osamu nudged him. a curse almost slipped from his lips, but he bit his tongue in time at the feeling of needles on his skin. he met [surname]'s eyes and the cat's dilating pupils.

she smiled as they shrank. "good mornin', suna-kun. didja like my playing?" her voice had been softer from far away.

suna stared up at her with half a mind to simply ignore her. he shared a glance with a very confused osamu. [surname]'s unblinking pupils only sharpened by the second.

he shrugged his shoulders, straightening his posture. "it was good, i guess? i don't know about music."

"neither do i, to be honest." suna realized her smile forced her lids to close. he felt more comfortable when she didn't look at him. her eyes seemed to burn.

"it sure didn't look like it."

laughter spilled like her lyrical nonsense. it sounded the same way one would read _ahahaha!_ over text. "i really just know the basics. y'know, scales and such. and only one song relyin' solely on muscle memory."

"cool." there wasn't much else he could say. and if there was, suna didn't know.

he met osamu's frowning gaze as it switched between [surname] and him. he was probably asking him something through that twin telepathy he only shared with atsumu. suna was as clueless as him regardless of what the question was.

[surname]'s staring was unnerving. her unblinking eyes cut straight on through like a knife driving into his chest. he wanted to tug it off and tear it away to breathe again.

"do you… need anything?"

the air returned to him as she jerked back into reality. "right, yeah! i've a color for ya!"

osamu's sheer confusion was almost tangible. suna saw how he cocked a brow and looked up at [surname] with curiosity. she dug her right hand into her pocket; if she noticed the glances the two were sharing, she ignored them.

her fingers wrapped around suna's wrist with warmth and kindness. he startled at the contact. she forced his palm open and placed on it the guitar pick she had been using. the color contrasted against his pale skin.

"there ya go. rhythm." she was grinning. suna was glad she was grinning. her eyes were small like this.

suna blinked down at the pick. "uh." he craned his neck upwards slowly. "what now?"

"this color." her index finger tapped twice on his palm. "it's called rhythm. s'a… lyrical, if ya will, shade of lilac. i think it fits."

"it's grey. bluish grey."

[surname] giggled. her hands linked behind her back. "grayish purplish blue, actually. 'm not gonna shove ya into colors like erin or electric lime just like that. takes time."

what was the difference between grayish blue and bluish grey? her words only made sense in her head. once they fell out of her mouth and flooded the room, they were all the same shade of nonsense. lyrical nonsense.

"uh, you were serious about the whole… teaching colors thing…?" suna hesitated before meeting her intense gaze again.

osamu let a short, inquisitive hum escape him.

[surname] didn't seem to care. she blinked at an inconsistent pace. "why wouldn't i? you can give it a shot."

"i don't think i care enough, uh—"

"[surname]." he knew that.

"yeah, [surname]. sorry, not my thing."

"i promise i'll be outta yer hair as soon as you learn a thing or two from me."

"a little pretentious on that front, don't you think?"

[surname] blinked once, her head tilting. "nothin' wrong with just a taste of what ya paid for, suna-kun, i can teach ya more than you could take in."

"sounds tiring."

"so does monotony." it felt as if he would melt before her eyes any second. the smile on her lips was soft and small; her gaze wasn't. "have a good day, suna-kun," she lilted as she threw a wave behind her shoulder.

he watched [surname] return to her friends, falling prey to shijiki's tight hug. her eyes closed when she laughed. suna pocketed the guitar pick in his hand.

osamu cleared his throat, successfully catching his attention. one of his brows was higher than the other. he glanced between [surname] at the back and suna in front of him. "so?" he required an explanation—rightfully so.

"i don't know, dude." suna shrugged, sprawling across his desk again. "she just came up to me, said _gainsboro_ , and left. i'm surprised she didn't catch a cold."

the number of questions in osamu's head only grew.

 **april loved crying** more than it loved dressing up with blooming colors. the previous day's rain didn't appear to be nearly enough for the bitter winter. this time, the droplets seemed to hammer down on the cement one after the other and all at the same time. scorching lightning flashed in the distance; thunder followed.

suna's umbrella clicked as it locked in place. he rested its shaft on his shoulder and headed out into the rain, hearing it smiting down on the black nylon. the clouds out of reach from him were much darker than the soft gainsboro he had learned.

he stared for a second too long and his mind wandered off. _rhythm_. his fingers found the guitar pick in his pocket. as he pulled it out, he snickered at himself for even calling it that. it was just grey, nothing fancy.

his eyes flickered to compare the pick to the clouds in the distance. if he tried hard enough, there was a bit of resemblance. but he didn't care for trying that much.

a chuckle fell from his lips while he shook his head to himself. both were grey, anyway. [surname]'s words swam through his ears again, _grayish purplish blue, actually_. the lack of pink petals in his scenery didn't bother him.

[surname] was a curse that followed him wherever he went. she seemed to like hanging out on the bench underneath the rain—being her, she probably had a favorite bench she always sat on. her umbrella was clear and see-through, shielding her body from the pouring water.

her neck craned up as she stared at the drops dripping onto the transparent canopy. lightning struck when suna came to a halt parallel to her. [surname] hummed to the beat of the rain, counting down the seconds until thunder rumbled. her numbers morphed into more of her lyrical nonsense.

suna sighed while shuffling closer to her. he used his thumb to flip the guitar pick like a coin, letting it fall onto her black skirt. [surname] stabbed him and for a moment he almost recoiled. she didn't blink. he regretted approaching her without a plan.

her gaze softened as she opened her mouth. "whatcha think of rhythm?" she blurted out; much like everything she said, it rang like nonsense to him.

"if i'm being honest, the clouds right now reminded me of it." he used his head to motion to the sky.

[surname] looked up. a smile stretched across her lips, shrinking her eyes. "ah, wouldn't call that rhythm. s'more a gradient from gainsboro to dim grey, davy's grey maybe, to jet."

"i'm surprised i know two of those colors."

"i'm askin' in general."

"what?"

"whatcha think of rhythm in general?" her nails drummed on the shaft of her umbrella. her eyes locked with his. "a strong, regular repeated pattern of movement or sound. some people like jazz, some people like classical. the rhythm, the beat, the tempo. not a music gal, anyway. how 'bout ya?"

"it's fine, i guess? i'm not a music dude either."

"we've established that."

suna hated the look in her eyes. what were they so intense for? he felt like he could sink through the vast sky and crumble into pieces right before her. as if she were gazing on at something only she could see. dark pupils that resembled the abyss, giving a look he couldn't ignore.

[surname] smiled warmly at him. she was looking at him with soft eyes. she flicked the guitar pick towards him, giving him little time to barely catch it. "see ya tomorrow, suna-kun."

her fingers waved faintly as a goodbye. suna blinked at her as she turned her attention up to the sky. he gave her a hesitant nod before resuming his walk home. her humming flooded his ears, following the rhythm of the rain on her umbrella.


	3. 100%

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> H 0% S 0% V 100%

**when the rain** decided to give him a break, so did [surname].

she walked in through the door at the front. suna's eyes fluttered towards her waving hand when her familiar voice flowed through his ears. he had heard her prior days. how he had managed to ignore her for so long was beyond him.

she was loud. "good mornin', everyone!" it wasn't a headache-inducing holler, but her volume was higher than in conversation.

all heads turned in her direction. almost the entire classroom chorused back at her with different variations. it impressed him.

"mornin'."

"good morning, [surname]-san."

"[surname]-chan! how're ya?!"

to which she responded with, "fine, thanks! how's yer mornin'?" as she walked past her classmate.

but the loudest one of all, the one that made suna flinch from desks away, was shijiki's greeting. her chair scraped thunderously against the floor as she shot from her seat. she barreled towards [surname] with obstreperous steps that rattled suna's brain inside his skull.

"[name]-chan!" comparing her piercing shriek to her singing voice made him wonder if they were the same person. she threw her limbs around her friend like a koala. "i missed ya!"

"s'been less than twenty-four hours, misa-chan," [surname] giggled. the weight of shijiki's body knocked her back a few steps. she wrapped her arms around her waist to stabilize herself.

shijiki looked her straight in the eyes. suna couldn't understand how she didn't shiver looking into [surname]'s eyes. "i know! but i love ya so much!" shijiki landed on the floor safely with a deafening thump that rang in his ears.

suna groaned quietly and his lids narrowed in annoyance. the chuckle that fell from osamu's lips didn't amuse him at all. was it too much to ask for a few more minutes of sleep before class? he glared up at the better twin—as he liked to call him—with a scowl that promised revenge after a nap.

the needles pricking his skin bristled the hairs on his nape. he snapped his attention forward to meet [surname]'s glistening knife digging into him. he really couldn't stand her eyes and that stare she gave him, gazing right through him and seeing things he would never understand.

[surname] grinned at him, waving her fingers as a greeting. he sighed internally and prepared his mind for whatever nonsense she would spout this time.

her hand snaked around shijiki's while she looked away from suna. shijiki took her satchel from her as if it weighed more than the world and [surname] couldn't handle it. she didn't protest, instead thanking her with a smile smaller than what she offered to him.

suna spared a half-hearted glance at the back of the room, catching a glimpse of the two girls sitting side by side. the sun peeked in through the dissipating gainsboro clouds, the guitar pick in his pocket was painted rhythm—everything else, he couldn't name.

 **his lungs burned** fiercer than a wildfire while finishing up his last lap around the gym. the double doors reflected like heaven in his eyes as he skidded to a stop with bent knees. his sweat trickled from his forehead down to his chin and dripped to the grass.

the green grass beneath his feet. the blue sky beyond his reach. the pink cherry blossoms raining to the floor. the empty brown benches waiting at the school entrance.

huh.

suna didn't know their respective names or even if they had one; he didn't even know if the steps to the gym were whitish grey or greyish white. the colors were there right before him. from the darkest to the lightest, the brightest to the dullest.

[surname] was one hell of a weird girl, that was for sure. he couldn't decide if his sudden awareness made him a weird one as well.

the shades and variations popped brightly in his eyes. saying it bothered him would have been a lie. he really didn't mind this change of pace. maybe it was that monotony he thought never disappeared; the way things always remained the same after a one-week spring break.

all he needed was a push in the right direction. all he needed was to open his eyes to the colors around him.

he chuckled to himself. maybe he should thank [surname], give her a taste of her own confusing randomness.

the cotton towel that atsumu flung at his face was pure white. the water bottle aran handed him was a worn-off yellow. the shirts they all wore were a shade a bit lighter than plain black—or was it grey?

he gazed out the high windows. "i know the clouds are gainsboro," he muttered into his towel.

ginjima overheard him. he didn't blink as he stared owlishly at suna, wondering if he had actually heard those words come from suna's mouth or his ears were just playing tricks on him. what the fuck was gainsboro?

"the bleachers look rhythm, too." a snicker got lost inside his water bottle. "it's just grey."

ginjima glanced around him to verify he wasn't the one going crazy. his palm fell on suna's shoulder and he hesitated before asking, "hey, you okay there, suna?"

suna craned his neck towards his teammate. his eyes darted from the hand on his shoulder to ginjima's hair. he wondered what shade of grey it was. he wondered what [surname] would call it.

"yeah, just thinking."


	4. byzantium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's the color of her nail polish.

**suna couldn't help** but wonder if [surname] had a deeper relationship with the rain than he had originally imagined. the days had transitioned smoothly into spring's peak, and the lack of rain made [surname]'s early _good mornin's_ sound much louder than they actually were. out the window, he could see the blooming trees, the bluest of skies, the soothing breeze inciting nature to dance.

he had grown used to the scenery over the course of a week. a week in which colors didn't have names unless they were grey, black, or white.

until the sky dressed itself in soft gainsboro clouds again. part of him had thought about allowing his sheets to consume and drown him as they rain tapped gently against his window to compose a lullaby just for him. his mind replayed bits and pieces of [surname]'s humming underneath her clear umbrella.

the other part remembered he had volleyball practice in the afternoon.

[surname]'s _good mornin'_ was the perfect volume and he thought maybe he could stay awake. but the relaxing beat of the water outside was far more tempting. as soon as osamu announced his famous _be back in a bit_ and disappeared down the hallway, suna collapsed onto his desk.

his eyelids had never felt so heavy. the rain blended with the chatting voices flowing around the room—he couldn't tell if the _ahahaha!_ giggles in his ears were real or a piece of his memory. he didn't complain; it was a great melody to fall asleep to.

 **shijiki bumped her** shoulders with [surname]'s, effectively catching her attention as she teared her eyes away from the back door. their smiles clashed, although shijiki's was wider.

she motioned to the door with a nod. "ya waitin' for someone?"

"kinda." [surname] returned to the door. she missed shijiki's pout. "i wanna try somethin'."

"lemme guess," another of her friends interjected their conversation, leaning towards them from a neighboring table. "suna-kun." her grin was lopsided and teasing.

shijiki rolled her eyes. she was glad [surname] didn't see her. "suna-san's passed out on his desk. _and_ he already rejected ya, so—"

"no, she ain't completely wrong." as much as she adored those eyes of hers, shijiki had to admit sometimes they were too much. "i'm waitin' for miya-kun, but it's more to do with suna-kun—ah, speak of the devil." and before anyone could stop her, [surname] was already chatting osamu up.

 **the drumming on** his desk woke him up. he had been dozing in and out of consciousness, but the distinctive sound of nails on his desk pierced his ears to force him wide awake. he didn't appreciate it very much.

holding back his curses, suna groggily moved his head to rest his chin on the desk. his eyes instantly darted to the four painted nails using the polished wood as an instrument. the color reminded him of the school uniform.

"brought ya some sugar, kickstart yer day."

he knew that voice far more than he cared to admit. he blinked the drowsiness away and looked up, brows rising. [surname] smiled down at him. in her hand, she held colorful packages of those chuupets he enjoyed so much. suna frowned—wasn't osamu supposed to buy those?

[surname] chortled, setting down the candy. "miya-kun gave 'em to me. wouldn't have guessed you liked this." he noticed how her nails contrasted with the packaged jelly fruit. he wondered what name she would give it.

his spine popped when he sat up. he fumbled with the plastic to rip it open. "why?" was all he asked, barely glancing up at [surname].

"ah, didn't peg ya as a sweet-tooth typa guy." her head fell onto her shoulder, her hair swayed. he realized her eyes didn't sting as much when she glared at him sideways. "must be the bored look you always have. not a trace of sugar there, suna-kun." the grin on her lips dripped with amusement.

once again, [surname] made him wonder if he could take offense in words he didn't understand. she hadn't excused herself this time, but he felt as though her statement was meant to insult him even if only a bit. or maybe she had never learned about the concept of a filter and didn't measure herself when talking.

that made sense.

she blinked at him with that weirdly and rather annoyingly inconsistent pace. first she dug into his ribcage, then she pricked him with needles, all in the same two seconds back to back.

as he busied himself with his free chuupet, [surname] shrugged to herself. her head returned to its natural position. her mouth opened, lips still stretched into a smile.

"[name]-chan! c'mere!" suna winced at shijiki's ear-piercing shriek. [surname] snapped her attention to the back of the room. her eyes seemed sharper for a second.

she turned back to him with a gaze that could easily give him whiplash. "that's my cue, suna-kun," she giggled as she rose from osamu's chair. "have a good day!"

suna bit his tongue when it itched to call her name. he settled for following her with his sight until it physically hurt him. as he stared at her back, he wondered if she had given up on teaching him about colors. he couldn't decide if it bothered him.

with the sugar flooding his mouth, he realized too late he hadn't thanked her.

 **sunlight peaked confidently** through the gainsboro clouds across the sky—suna chuckled to himself; he'd never forget about that color. all that was left of the rain that had lulled him to sleep earlier were puddles he made sure to avoid. he knew atsumu would jump on those when kita wasn't looking.

his fingers subconsciously played with the guitar pick in his pocket. he had forgotten it there for weeks and it distracted his left hand while his right one scrolled through his phone. 

through the corner of his eye, the figure of a person on a bench made him halt. an argument broke out between his limbs and his mind. _it's [surname],_ said his feet, and _it doesn't matter,_ bit back his brain.

suna sighed. he ignored the vibration of a notification to turn towards the bench. it was, in fact, [surname], sitting cross-legged as she flipped through the first pages of a book. he noticed how much closer they were to the school's exit. ah, the bench was a different one.

[surname] muttered something to herself and snorted. she looked up from her book, a slanted simper pasted messily across her lips. her face brightened up instantly when she caught suna's eyes. their intensity didn't bother him—much.

she promptly returned to her lap and flipped all the way to the last pages. suna stared with a raised brow how she scanned the printed words before going back to the beginning. the rich color of her nails made him wonder again if she had decided to stop teaching him about her colors.

"ya need anythin', suna-kun?"

"…just thinking."

"dangerous hobby ya got there." when she trapped his eyes in hers this time, suna cringed both internally and externally. the gesture on her lips was small as she stabbed him relentlessly. "whatcha thinkin' 'bout?"

it was weird to tell her he was thinking about her, right? the truth stood, but it sounded like something atsumu would say. instead, he peeled his gaze away from her to focus on the color of her nails. maybe she would get the message.

[surname] followed his attention to her own hand. she stared at it for a few seconds. "oh. my nail polish? d'ya like it?" her book closed with a thump as she stood up. "byzantium." she showed-off her nails to him while walking closer.

behind her, on the wet bench, her discarded blazer lay crumpled and dirty. [surname] dressed in black and white as if she hadn't approached suna because of his lack of colors. he locked his phone and shoved it in his pocket. he had been waiting for another color.

"by the way, not ta be confused with tyrian purple, which was used by the byzantium emperors when empires were a trend."

suna couldn't help the amused laughter bubbling in his chest. he listened with a faint smile sitting on his lips.

[surname] admired the deep, vibrant byzantium color while rambling, "i think purples suit me better than reds, so 'm glad the school can't tell the difference between a purplish magenta and a reddish magenta. lets me paint this with no trouble. falls into the school's colors in their eyes."

"it looks like the school's maroon to me." ah. "maroon? is that what you called it?"

"maroon, burgundy, potato, potato." she waved her hand dismissively.

suna blinked. "potato, po- _tah_ -to?"

[surname] giggled into her palm. the byzantium shone on her skin. "ya get it. anyway, it ain't, see?" her fingers looped around his wrist, tugging his arm up to his chest. she pulled at the sleeve of his tracksuit to compare the hues.

"oh." he had nothing else to say. he couldn't believe he was agreeing to a minimal difference, which he knew he wouldn't have even glanced at.

"it fits," [surname] hummed and let his arm fall. "ya guys wear those tracksuits like a crown; _i_ like findin' my royalty in my purples. still tonin' it down with red ta make sure it's never real."

those words only made sense in her head. she met his confused eyes for a brief moment and giggled to herself. whatever went on inside that colorful brain of hers.

"wonder if i can fool 'em with dark byzantium and pretend it's black. you think it'll work?"

"you have different words for grey, but dark byzantium is dark byzantium?"

[surname] found his comment more comical than he had intended. "i think they got a bit lazy namin' that one. there's byzantium, dark byzantium for a darker shade, and byzantine for a lighter shade. impressive, right?" she stabbed him.

suna recoiled. "i guess," he mumbled with a shrug of his shoulders.

a huff rolled out of her mouth as she broke eye contact. her shoulders slumped. "i'll see if i can fool 'em tomorrow. d'ya think this suits me, though?"

"what do i know?"

"huh."

sometimes a glistening knife, sometimes a piercing drill, but her eyes were never eyes. suna stared into the void and his skin crawled, warning him of things he couldn't understand even if [surname] explained them thoroughly.

her grin made him jump.

if a smile could be described as _abrupt,_ [surname] smiled at him abruptly. "i think the maroon suits you." her hands didn't hesitate to fix the collar of his tracksuit even if there wasn't any need for fixing. she hummed, "magenta might not be the best for me; i'd like a real color." 

suna really didn't understand. before he could ask what classified as a real color or not, the splashing of water caught their attention. they both whipped their heads towards the approaching volleyball team. atsumu jumped on a puddle to spite his brother.

[surname]'s eyes seemed sharper from a profile view. when she turned back to him, they softened. "i'll leave ya now. take care, suna-kun, see ya tomorrow." she patted his shoulders with a smile.

he followed her with his sight, watching as she hugged her belongings to her chest, mumbling about throwing her blazer into the washer first thing. [surname] offered a wave of her fingers over her shoulder and headed home.

"see you." suna nodded to her retreating back.

a heavy arm fell around him once [surname] had completely disappeared. "who was that?" he cringed at how close atsumu's voice sounded. "a fangirl? you been getting 'em, too?"

"wasn't that [surname]-san?" osamu appeared to pull his brother away.

"ya know her, 'samu?"

"she's in our class. what'd she say now? didja thank her for the chuupets?" it dawned on him that he hadn't.

suna shrugged it off. the sleeves of his jacket reached to his second knuckle. "she talked about the uniform." he wasn't lying.

osamu hummed, "a weird one, ain't she."

"tell me about it."

"wait, i'm outta the loop."

"shuddup, 'tsumu."

when osamu smacked his twin across the nape, suna pulled out his phone.


	5. 83%

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> H 0% S 0% V 83%

**the rain stopped** for good after suna learned about byzantium and its shades. he expected her the following morning, thinking she'd probably take osamu's seat to show him her dark byzantium nails.

the hues faded into greys in the silent classroom.

osamu had left to the vending machine and [surname]'s _good mornin'_ had yet to sound. at the back of the room, shijiki was awfully quiet while she tapped away at her phone with a frown.

 **little over a** week went by in monochrome and blurred saturation. suna glanced over to [surname]'s empty desk any chance he got. she enjoyed changing things way too abruptly for his liking. barging into his life with eccentric words he couldn't wrap his head around; vanishing into thin air and leaving silence where there had been early greetings.

she twisted the script when he least expected it.

the colors around him shone brightly but nameless. he recognized a shade being slightly different from the other. he wondered what [surname] had to say about them.

an underclassman in the team always unclasped a brown watch before practice. the dog that barked at him on his walk home had orange fur. one of his classmates presented a powerpoint with magenta slides—suna still didn't know what she meant about magenta not being real.

even when he looked forward to the board, osamu's dyed hair filled his vision. what shade was it? did [surname] have a name for it? he couldn't dismiss it as _just grey_ anymore.

 **it wasn't like** he had grown used to the silence—half of his mind waited patiently for [surname]'s voice to start his day. it just so happened that her friends didn't have much regard for other people when they got excited. particularly shijiki.

after colorless days without names, he was greeted with hollering and whooping and cheering. pairs of footsteps he didn't care to count scrambled to the back door.

he cringed in annoyance, scrunching his nose. osamu mimicked him as they shared a discontent glance. suna rested his cheek on his desk and hoped his arms were enough to muffle the ruckus.

unfortunately—or fortunately?—, they weren't. [surname]'s voice flowed into his ears, "good mornin', ev—!" and died into a startled cry.

among the squeals and shrieks of pure mirth, he could make out her friends exclaiming how much they'd missed her. some boys welcomed her back with cheerful greetings. he thought shijiki was crying.

[surname]'s distinctive tone rose above the cacophony. "i live! i live!" her words trembled with laughter. "i'm okay! 'twas just a cold, jeez!"

the noises died down. suna couldn't have been more grateful.

"we told ya to stop stayin' under the rain, dumbass!" he recognized shijiki's shrillness anywhere. skin smacked against skin and [surname] whined.

"but i didn't!" she argued back. "haven't done that since the school year started!"

a chuckle escaped him before he could catch it. suna shifted his head to rest on his chin. "liar," he mumbled.

osamu smirked at him, his brows rising. he was definitely a miya. suna rolled his eyes as he hid behind his arms again.

"she's comin' over," osamu whispered, almost as if it were a warning.

"uh-huh."

"good mornin', suna-kun."

even if he knew she was approaching, her voice startled him. he lifted his head to meet her eyes. he surely hadn't missed the way her knife buried itself deep into his chest. [surname] smiled warmly at him as though she hadn't disappeared for longer than a week.

osamu raised his hand to catch her attention. "i'm 'ere, too."

"ah, good mornin', miya-kun." [surname]'s eyes flickered towards him. suna wondered why osamu didn't recoil like he did. "yer hair looks nice today."

"damn, only today?"

she hummed. "s'cause today i paid attention. tomorrow i'll look again and make sure to compliment ya." her _ahahaha!_ giggles blended with osamu's laughter.

suna could only stare at them. it impressed him how she could freely spout her randomness for anyone and assume they would take all of it. osamu seemed to be doing just that.

"well, have a good day, you two." [surname] waved her fingers as she turned around. suna watched her leave.

he couldn't understand her brain, what she expected of him, or simply how she operated. his world remained colorless for one more day.

osamu nudged him with his elbow. "i'm sure you were dyin' ta talk to her, my bad."

he hadn't realized that he didn't exchange a single word. he rolled his eyes again. "shut up. at least she didn't say anything too weird. you'd need to borrow atsumu's braincell to understand."

"bold of ya to assume i didn't take 'em all in the womb."

suna snorted.

 **"you okay, dude?"** ginjima frowned while pulling a packet of tissues out of his bag.

atsumu muttered out a _thanks_ and grumbled, "spring aller—" he sneezed again.


	6. amaranth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “it's similar to the color of the dried cranberries there, see?”

**"s'always good ta** have some sugar in the mornin'. not much, but a lil' somethin'-somethin' to pick ya up."

[surname]'s voice ringing in his ears so early in the morning made suna wonder what crime he had committed in his past life to deserve such punishment. ignoring her general greetings had become second-nature, but what could he do when she stood right next to him?

much to his chagrin, nothing.

he instinctively held his breath, shoulders stiffening. with every blink, [surname] stabbed another needle into his skin. an exhausted groan burned on his throat as he shifted his head. his eyes locked onto hers through half-lidded lids.

the haze clouding his sights didn't allow him to see properly. there was no need for a clear vision to see the beam of her smile not holding a candle to her glistening knife.

plastic crinkled. his attention fell on the candy bar in her hand, safe in an unbearably loud transparent wrapper. suna was starting to question her definition of _a lil' somethin'-somethin'_ when all he saw inside the package was seeds drenched in liquid sugar.

[surname] hummed and inched the candy closer to his tired face. "it's really good. much better than those chuupets ya like for some reason." her nose scrunched up, her eyes shrank when she frowned. 

"you don't like chuupets?"

she shrugged. "they're weird." 

suna rolled his eyes as if [surname] had insulted his ancestors. chuupets were great. he scoffed, "you're one to talk." he blinked at his own edge. usually those comments echoed in his brain, not aloud. "uh—"

"yeah, i get that sometimes." he watched as she tried to fight back a smile. "ya takin' the candy or not?"

suna sighed more heavily than intended, pushing his body off the desk with sluggish arms. he grabbed the bar from her hand to inspect it up close. the powerful, sweet scent of burnt sugar flooded his nose through the plastic.

the seeds and dried fruit tempted him. he crumpled the wrapper between his fingers, asking, "what is this?" 

[surname] pulled out a bar of her own. she struggled to bite down on it. the crunching sounds coming from her mouth as she chewed made suna wonder if she had broken a tooth. human teeth were not made for this; [surname] wasn't human. it made sense.

she smiled at him, clearing her throat after swallowing. "alegría."

"what now? is that a color?"

"huh?" for a second, it seemed she had stopped breathing. her brows were pushed into her forehead, eyes unblinking, pupils scorching. she snapped back. "naw, the candy's called alegría. spanish for joy." the smile on her lips brimmed with pride.

"so it's a spanish candy?"

"mexican, actually. oh, if ya'd like a color, nothing more fittin' than amaranth!"

she was way too excited for something as simple as candy or a color. but then again, it _was_ [surname] saying these things. it didn't surprise him as much.

suna scrutinized the candy in his hand. he shrugged. "enlighten me."

he had to glance up when silence interjected their conversation. [surname]'s sharp eyes made him flinch. her lips were slightly parted and this time he could tell she wasn't breathing. suna grimaced to himself at her intense staring.

he couldn't understand how her brain processed information—if it processed it at all. she seemed to lose track of reality whenever suna replied to her words. and seconds later, she returned with a grin on her lips, as if she hadn't disappeared into herself for a moment.

she breathed in, a smile digging into her cheeks. "it's similar to the color of the dried cranberries there." her index finger pointed to the candy bar in his hand. "see?"

suna's attention flitted to the fruit and then back to [surname], humming, "uh-huh." it was an uninterested reaction, but enough to keep her talking.

"the candy itself's made with amaranth grains. the pumpkin seeds and dried fruit're just there for an extra oomph of flavor. weird how some things click together." her smile shrank from a glaring beacon into a candle made of silk. her eyes cut right through him. "didn't even think ya cared 'bout my colors"

"i don't hate it," he muttered, shrugging.

[surname] leaned towards him. "so, ya learnin'?"

"i guess?"

"i'll start gettin' bolder then."

she chose questionable words to express herself. sometimes suna preferred it if she didn't express herself at all. he didn't hate it as much as he hated her gaze. [surname] was someone he couldn't completely finish to understand and it bothered him.

before he could voice his thoughts, she continued, "there's an amaranth bush i pass by on my way home. i'll show it to ya some day."

"so amaranths are…?" he raised a brow.

"flowers." [surname] paused, staring down at the snack in her hand. "they symbolize immortality. makes ya think." after a millisecond of hesitation, her eyes found his. it didn't burn.

"about what?"

her lips widened into that glowing grin from before as she straightened her back. suna heard her spine pop. "i wonder," she hummed. "well, have a good day, suna-kun! share that with miya-kun if it's too much!"

his reply died at the tip of his tongue. he replayed in his mind the way [surname] waved her fingers and sauntered back to a scowling shijiki with bouncing steps.

the chair before him scraping against the floor made him cringe. osamu plopped down on his seat, his forearm settling on the backrest of his chair. "what's that?" he peered down at the candy in suna's hand.

"alegría." the word didn't sound as good as it had done when [surname] said it. osamu frowned in both confusion and curiosity. suna sighed, "it means joy."

osamu blinked. the dots connected in his head in an instant. "[surname]-san gave it to ya?" suna nodded. "an' yer already in love?"

suna's eyes narrowed into an incredulous glare. he flickered between the bar and his friend. "the candy, osamu. _this—_ " he waved the snack for emphasis, "—is called alegría."

"gimme a piece." osamu's hand shot towards the candy. suna had quick reflexes.

"no."

" _huh_? i get ya stuff from the vendin' machine all the time, don't be a bitch."

he merely grumbled, "get your own." his teeth hurt when he bit into the hardened sugar.

osamu stared at his friend completely unimpressed as he chewed. the crunching was loud enough to make his mouth water. he darted out of his seat while calling for [surname]. "hey, [surname]-san, can i get some of this candy?"

suna didn't like not understanding things.

from his desk, he could see osamu pointing back at him as he talked with [surname]. she shifted her gaze towards him, cackling gleefully at his slumped shoulders and the candy between his lips. she turned back to osamu towering over her chair and handed him her own alegría. osamu snapped it in half, thanking her loudly as he returned to suna with that smug smirk of his.

suna rolled his eyes and sprawled over his desk. he chomped down again on the bar with teeth not made for such hardness.

he certainly didn't like not understanding [surname]. her decisions and her words and her actions. none of them made any sort of sense to him. what was the difference between him and osamu or anyone else? if she treated everyone equally, why make an extra effort for him?

his lips twisted into an annoyed scowl as he tasted the sugar and the amaranth grains. 

**[surname]'s hands scrambled** to grasp her desk for safety, her legs shooting from their crossing position to stomp on the floor. she felt shijiki's hand stabilizing her shoulder as she let out a breath of relief. from her other side, one of her friends giggled while everyone else gasped.

"whoops, sorry 'bout that!"

shijiki glared up at her. she used her fingers to brush inexistent dust off [surname]'s clothes. "be more careful, ya almost killed 'er."

"i'm fine, misa-chan," [surname] laughed as she intertwined her fingers with shijiki's; almost like taming a feral dog. "what was that for, anyway?" she turned with a joyous grin to the friend that had practically knocked her off her chair with a _friendly shove._

the girl shook [surname] by the shoulders. "'cause yer friends with the volleyboys!"

her statement kickstarted a chain reaction of excitement.

"right!"

"oh, god!"

"can you get me osamu-kun's number?"

"naw, naw, the short senpai! he's so cute!"

"guys, we have suna-kun _right there_."

a slap resounded. the last girl whined. "dude, [name]-chan called dibs."

"i didn't—"

"wait, no!" shijiki slammed her palms atop her desk. the group of friends clamped their mouths shut in an instant. "yer not datin' him, are you?" her wide eyes and scalding glower demanded an answer. [surname] stared at her.

"no way…" another of the girls whispered.

"oh, man, finally."

"lucky, lucky!"

[surname] smiled warmly at shijiki, allowing her scowl to soothe. she gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. "i told y'all i don't have a crush on him, i just like 'im."

"same difference, ya even confessed the other day."

"i didn't."

"we saw ya, and you said he rejected ya." nods and hums of agreement echoed. a sympathetic hand fell on [surname]'s shoulder.

she shook her head. "i said he answered _no_ to my question."

"and what was that?" shijiki prodded.

"i asked if there's color in his world. seems there isn't, so i'm lookin' for a way to dye it for him." her eyes flickered to suna for a brief second. he was sprawled over his desk, munching on his alegría. [surname] chuckled, "i think it's workin' but i ain't too sure. s'only four colors so far."

"you have a… weird way of flirting."

a chorus of laughter flooded the room. "again, i don't have feelings for 'im." [surname] waved her hand dismissively.

"but ya said ya like him."

"yeah, i do. he's interesting. i've never kno— _met_ anyone completely black and white. i'm experimentin'."

"…dude, what?"

she giggled. her gaze settled back on suna across the room. "how can a person not have color? can i change that? can i paint them? are they meant to not have any color?" suna glanced back to meet her eyes. "do i have to find one that fits?"

the girls exchanged curious looks with one another. they flitted between their friend and the famous middle blocker. suna turned back to osamu when he felt more eyes than [surname]'s on him.

"you can just tell him if ya've a crush on 'im, ya know?"

[surname]'s _ahahaha!_ giggles spilled as she shifted in her seat. she pulled her legs up to cross them. "if i get one, i'll tell 'im. for now, i'll be his teacher."

"that it? not even friends?"

"i'll leave him alone when i'm done. worst case scenario, he learns nothin' and i wasted my time." [surname] shrugged her shoulders carefreely. she tore her sights away from suna to look at her friends and their cocked brows.

"best case scenario?"

"he learns and we become friends. i'm fine with both, really." maybe she was overdoing it with the shrugging, yet she kept repeating it again and again. "he might stay. that's what amaranths mean. at the end of the day, our relationship, whatever it is, s'meant to never fade. who knows?" she turned to shijiki when she gripped her fingers a bit too tightly.

she offered her friend a warm smile, returning the comforting squeeze in a gentle manner. with her free hand, she dropped her leftover alegría on shijiki's lap. shijiki glared down at it with a pout.

a forced cough caught everyone's attention. "but can i get osamu-kun's number—don't laugh, i'm serious!" the group of girls exploded in amused cackles. [surname] didn't have the boys' numbers, but they didn't need to know that as they messed with each other's hairs.


	7. zomp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's the color of a plant.

**after little over** a month, may found the courage april couldn't to let go of its gainsboro cotton, replacing it instead with an endless, brilliant blue. suna gazed out from the steps of the gym, and the feeling of sinking through the sky was both overwhelming and inviting. the color blue had never reflected with such vibrancy.

the wind blew; a soothing breeze that brushed gently against his sweaty face and cooled down the temperature of his skin. he breathed in the air and his shoulders loosened. the chorus of squeaking rubber shoes, thumping volleyballs, and fraternal banter rang sweetly in his ears.

he took another chug from his bottle. the fresh water rushing down his throat could easily rival any mythological elixir of eternal life. he used the back of his hand to wipe his mouth. his eyes turned to the side when detached voices began approaching.

suna groaned internally. he knew one of those voices.

[surname] rounded the corner, chatting animatedly with the boy by her side. suna didn't recognize him. in their arms, both carried crates with a wide variety of plug plants.

suna heard her familiar giggles. "ya look like a cyan typa guy to me."

cyan. that word rang a bell. yes, the sky wasn't blue, it was cyan.

"s'that a compliment?" the boy questioned with a lilt in his voice.

"if ya want it to be."

they shared a laugh, shoulders bouncing and heads thrown back. [surname] never failed to impress suna with the weird nonsense she showered over everyone. how did she even decide what color to assign to people? she knew colors and liked throwing them to the wind.

although he still didn't understand [surname] as a whole, some things were clear to the eye. it was certainly more interesting to talk to someone with color rather than him, the black and white classmate sitting a couple desks away. she didn't need to waste her time teaching colors to that guy; he knew them already, he _had_ one.

among her airy cackles and shaking figure, her gaze flickered towards suna. she trapped his eyes in hers and even if they didn't pierce him, it was startling. the simper on her lips widened instantly. he regretted taking a break outside the gym.

[surname] turned back to the boy laughing beside her. she halted in her steps, shifting the crate in her arms to raise a hand. "soz', prez, i'll catch up to ya in a bit." she motioned with her head to suna.

the president gave her a nod and a polite smile. "of course," was all he replied before resuming his walk.

the grin beaming on her lips was as vibrant as the cyan sky stretching deep above them, if not more. [surname] sauntered over to him with weightless steps. "hey, suna-kun!"

"yo." suna nodded.

"takin' a break from practice?" she struggled with balancing the crate of plug plants. his hands darted on instinct to help her set it down safely.

he hummed, capping his water bottle. "you're in the gardening club?"

"oh, no. they needed a few extra pairs of hands." she clapped and shook her palms, cleaning off the dirt coating her skin. arms akimbo, she kept her burning eyes on suna's. "just met the student prez, chill guy."

the student council president was _a cyan typa guy._ suna looked down to his bottle. "well, i wouldn't want to hold you."

" _huh_?" she drew out. "yer kickin' me out? can ya even do that?" her fingers pushed firmly on his shoulder in a playful shove.

he stared up at her bright expression with squinted eyes. she sure was strangely persistent. considering they didn't interact with each other at all, [surname] made it too much of a priority to go out of her way to talk to him. suna remained silent.

[surname] puffed out a huff. she teared her attention away from him, crouching by her crate. "well, since it's been a while, here—" she shot back to stand straight on her feet. instead of her eyes, suna found one of the plug plants in front of him. "—take one, 'm sure they won't mind. zomp."

he had to blink once and twice and thrice and it wasn't enough. she moved unnecessarily fast, jumping from one topic to the other and leaving him behind. 

suna rose a brow, pulling back to assess her hands holding onto the plug. "what's zomp?" he whispered to himself; half in confusion, half in curiosity. he blinked again and glared up at her beam. "no, do you really think i can keep this alive?"

"if ya treat it with care, sure." [surname] shrugged. seeing as he didn't bother to take the pot, she forcefully wrapped his fingers around it. she nodded to herself in approval.

"what the fuck…?" he glanced in disbelief back and forth between the growing plant and [surname]'s smile. he sighed, "what's zomp then?"

"ah, it kinda reminded me. the gardening club's plannin' on doin' an artificial swamp and it's spring, so things connected in my brain. plus, i think it'd be a cute name for a lil' guy like that."

her words entered through his ear in a jumbled mess and bounced around his brain aimlessly. suna grimaced, staring up at her with squinted eyes. "what are you talking about?"

"yer not followin'?" he couldn't tell if her pupils dilating were a product of his imagination or not. his head shook slowly, almost as if he were afraid of moving abruptly. she grabbed her chin with two fingers, using her other arm to support her elbow across her chest. "maybe i shouldn't be so bold… should i go back to greyscale…? but zomp ain't as bold as amaranth was and he got that just fine." her eyes stabbed deep into him. "i wonder if ya don't like cool colors?"

"you go too fast." suna had never said nicer words to someone unbelievably incomprehensible. [surname] never dwelled on his words as much as he did on hers.

"ah, that makes sense." she snapped her fingers. "d'ya have your phone? i wanna show you somethin'."

utterly confused, raising a questioning brow, suna stared dumbfounded at his classmate. he shrugged while blowing out a sigh. he fished out his phone from his pocket, swiped his thumb across the screen to unlock it, and handed it over to her. she chirped out a _thanks,_ her fingers typing away at his keyboard.

suna blinked bemused when [surname]'s own phone rang from inside her skirt. she grumbled incoherent curses about _i swear 'twas on vibrate_ and promptly returned the device in her hands to its rightful owner, locked and safe as if she hadn't touched it. she pulled out her phone, shoving it in front of his eyes like she had done with the plug plant.

suna squinted at the cracked screen to distract himself from her burning eyes. "this is zomp," she announced, overflowing with enthusiasm, "i think it's from the german _sumpf,_ meanin' _swamp_ , and s'a dark shade of spring green. everything clicked together when i saw ya sittin' here."

"spring green?"

"y'know, teal? aquamarine? mint?" her phone vibrated as she changed the settings, and soon it was back in the safety of her skirt's pocket.

suna tried to register the colors falling from her lips. "bluish green?"

[surname] nodded. "those're shades of spring green. like zomp."

he hummed in response. his gaze shifted down to his unlocked phone, finding a new contact labeled _[surname]._ "why didn't you just search it on your phone?" he met her eyes hoping they wouldn't hurt him.

they were small as she grinned and responded, "'cause now ya have my number and i have yours."

"you could've just asked."

"oh, could i? you woulda given it to me? makes it sound like yer willin' to talk to me." her words trembled with amusement.

"i am."

she laughed into her hand, those _ahahaha!_ giggles that each day sounded more like an android trying to imitate basic human functions. "i can't tell. black and white're simple but so hard to read. they contrast too much and blind me a bit."

if suna blinded her, [surname] deafened him.

"what are you even saying?"

"ya should take what i say as a given." her teeth glistened in the afternoon sunlight. 

he couldn't even think of a response. atsumu saved him from having to come up with one, hollering, "hey, suna, get back in 'ere!"

[surname] glanced into the gym with glimmering irises. "that's your cue, suna-kun."

suna rolled his eyes—whether at atsumu's loudness or [surname]'s giggles, he didn't know. he locked his phone with his thumb and shoved it inside his tracksuit. in his left hand, he held the plug plant she had forced him to accept.

he stared down at it with a blank expression.

[surname] leaned towards him. her hair danced as she tilted her head to meet his gaze. "you'll take care of zomp for me? take care of my colors?"

when she didn't spout tangled nonsense, she was insulting him with words he couldn't understand. and when she didn't insult him, instead she asked questions he couldn't guess how to respond to.

for a second time that day, atsumu saved him from [surname]'s random spontaneity—not that he would give him such credit. atsumu's spike stung him in the back and ricocheted off him towards [surname]. the ball rolled to a stop by her feet while suna groaned.

"get yer lazy ass movin', scrub!"

[surname] snorted as she kicked the ball up into her hands. "sounds like a lively fella, that one. i'll drop by sometime ta watch you guys." her wrists popped when she passed the ball into his free hand.

suna sighed. he spared one last glare to the plant and locked eyes with [surname]. "i'll try."

"much appreciated." she turned to take her leave with the crate safely in her arms. "say hi to miya-kun for me. see ya." she threw a smile over her shoulder, nodding her head to avoid waving her fingers like she usually did.

her eyes pricked his skin. suna nodded back. "see you." he didn't say hi to osamu for her.


	8. caput mortuum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's the color of dried blood.

**suna had grown** used to the feeling of [surname]'s eyes on him. they pricked against his skin like needles, but they didn't bother him anymore. he couldn't understand why osamu or anyone else didn't pay as much regard to her gaze as he did—involuntarily, nonetheless.

each morning when she approached, his fight or flight response seemed to be triggered. yet he did neither. the hairs on the back of his head bristled as he heard her footsteps coming closer from behind. all he did was sit down patiently and wait for her to greet him.

 _good mornin', suna-kun,_ he could hear it replaying like a broken record inside his head.

he waited and waited and waited. [surname]'s eyes blistered his back, his nape, his head. the needles merged together into a knife; the knife grew larger into a sword. the temperature in the classroom rose.

suna peeked from over his shoulder to see her standing completely motionless. he wouldn't put it past her to function properly without breathing. one glance into her glare helped him understand why it scorched like lava.

[surname] was frowning.

he had seen her furrowed brows when she scrunched up her face playfully. she didn't look very playful this morning.

she pulled an empty chair from the seat beside his desk. he wanted to claw out his own eyes to avoid the eye contact she forced upon him. osamu was very clearly enjoying their staring contest as he munched on his snacks.

her knife flickered from his eyes to his hands and back to him. "what happened to yer fingers, suna-kun?"

suna found the courage to blink, tearing his sights away from her to inspect his fingers. he had taped them the previous afternoon during practice. he glanced up at osamu and that smug smirk of his.

"osamu's spike," suna replied with a shrug. he turned back to [surname] just in time to see her eyes grow wide.

her burning glare whipped towards osamu. "miya-kun?!" her voice rose a few pitches. osamu's lips fell into a flat line as he swallowed his food. he wasn't enjoying anything anymore.

"i jammed my fingernail, it's nothing." suna snickered to himself. he fiddled with the tape, tugging at the edges to pull it off.

[surname]'s attention returned to him in an instant. "whaddaya mean _nothing_? this the norm in volley?"

he shrugged again. the tape unwrapped from his fingers with ease. "it happens often, if that's what you're asking." he faced his purple nail towards her. dried blood coated the edge.

[surname] blinked. her frown smoothed out and vanished. "oh." she gently held onto his hand with careful fingers. "caput mortuum."

ah, there it was. her colors had been overshadowed by her scowling concern. they resurfaced in a second with suna's help.

"what?"

"yeah, what?" osamu echoed.

"this color." he noticed how much longer her nails were compared to his. they were painted a dark color. he guessed it could've been dark byzantium. "it's caput mortuum, translates from latin to dead head."

suna winced when she prodded his finger with her nail. it didn't hurt, it simply startled him. she scraped the blood off him.

he stared at [surname] and her weird decisions. did she act subconsciously or fully conscious? "i don't know if i like that," suna managed to mumble.

"well, i don't like seein' yer fingers bruised, but i ain't whinin'." her sharpened pupils darted up from his hand to his eyes. he recoiled.

he still couldn't figure it out—figure _her_ out. nobody had ever cleaned the blood off his nails, and honestly, he preferred it that way. [surname] glared into him with his hand between her fingers, as if she were silently scolding him for not taking better care of himself. she either had no shame or was a complete idiot.

she let go of him and he instantly pulled his arm onto his desk. she stood up, smiling. "i think it fits, anyway. caput mortuum's used to refer to the residues in alchemy, the useless stuff ya pull apart and throw away." her rambles fell from her tongue as she returned the chair to its place.

"where are you going with this?" suna sighed, one of his brows arching.

[surname] shook her head and let out a hum. "i've nowhere to go, but ya taped yer fingers ta keep going. it's useless to think about the pain if it's only gonna hold ya back."

"sounds similar to the school banner."

"what's it say?" she seemed to perk up at his comment. suna regretted opening his mouth.

" _we don't need things like memories_."

"oh." [surname] blinked. her eyes carved holes on him. "i agree. we don't." the smile on her lips was thin.

it slapped him with enough shock to give him whiplash. he could hear glass shattering in the background. suna hadn't realized when he had started making assumptions about [surname]. she agreed with a school banner she'd never paid attention to. he had assumed she held memories dear to her heart simply because of her demeanor.

but she mentioned gainsboro only once. the one to constantly dwell on everything she spouted was him.

her gaze didn't make him flinch when he locked eyes. instead, it was [surname] who raised her brows in surprise. "you don't—"

"[name]-chan!" shijiki cut into their conversation with her shrill shrieks. "yer takin' too long! come back!" she waved her arm in the air as if [surname] couldn't find her.

[surname] snorted. "that's my cue, suna-kun. take care of yerself." she glanced to osamu with a slanted simper. "treat 'im nice, miya-kun, he seems to be fragile." her palm patted his shoulder before she waved her fingers and walked away.

the boys watched her sit down at her seat and how shijiki suffocated her in a hug. suna turned to face forwards again, maybe rest a bit more on his desk. he met osamu's eyes.

"she's weird," he commented with that smirk of his.

suna sighed, "i know."

"she flirts weird."

"i don't think she's flirting." he rolled his eyes. "i don't know what she wants."

"she's flirtin' with ya."

"what do _you_ know?"

osamu shrugged, popping almonds into his mouth. "count yer blessings, ya don't get crazy fangirls and billions of envelopes."

"no, i get a weird girl saying i'm colorless." osamu was just as dumbfounded as him, a questioning frown etched on his brows. suna shook his head. "whatever that means."

his phone vibrated from inside his pocket before osamu could retort. he pulled it out to find a message from [surname]. it was a picture of the color she had scraped off the edge of his bruised nail.

"ya have her number?"

suna couldn't help the grimace contorting his face. "long story."

"and you talk?" the expression he wore reminded suna so much of atsumu. he had plans of spiking a ball into both of their faces in the afternoon.

he handed his phone to the better twin—although that title was slowly becoming inaccurate. "she sends me pictures of things and their color, i don't know."

"what?"

osamu scrolled through the chat he shared with [surname]. the messages on her part were long and messy, jumping from hiragana to kanji to english words, misspelled more often than not. suna's replies—always replies because he never messaged her first—were so unbelievably interested that osamu cringed. he didn't think suna had it in him.

on weekends, she sent him _good mornin's_ with an unnecessary amount of exclamation points. and suna always answered back.

osamu scrunched his nose as he returned the phone. "you guys flirt weird."

"woah, a promotion." suna's volume rose to pretend he was excited. osamu cackled. "from getting flirted with to mutual flirting."

"i'm rootin' for her."

"watch out for your head, i'll give you an aneurysm." his threat disappeared into an unexpected yawn. he slammed his forehead against his desk to knock himself out until homeroom started.

part of him hoped he wouldn't get a bruise. he knew he couldn't handle another frowning [surname].


	9. nyanza

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's the color of the leaves.

**the last day** before summer break let out early. club activities were off, since probably most clubs would spend their free time—which was a lot of it—working on them. for suna and the rest of his teammates, that meant they had no practice.

suna took the opportunity to head home as soon as the bell sounded. he scrolled lazily through his phone, trying to pretend the walk from the school building to the exit wasn't as endless as he was making it out to be. his eyes flew towards the empty benches and back to his screen.

the weather called for rolled-up sleeves and no blazer. the sun shining down on the cherry blossoms threatened a heatstroke for anyone that stayed under its rays. it made sense that [surname] wasn't waiting to give him a color. she had sent him one a few days prior, anyway.

as he walked through the gates, a sneeze managed to pull him away from his social media feed. suna spared a measly glance to the side before continuing the journey to his bed.

[surname]'s voice tangled around his feet to trip him on the sidewalk. "damn…" it sounded nasal and muffled, and a few sniffles followed her curses.

suna blinked. was [surname] really crouching over some bushes or was the heat playing tricks on his exhausted brian? there was no way he was actually bumping into her outside the school, a day before summer started and they stayed away from each other for more than a month. what were the odds?

she hadn't taken notice of him, too busy mumbling intelligible nonsense to herself. suna could take his leave and pretend she hadn't made him stop in his tracks again. "[surname]?" but he went and called to her.

her mouth clamped shut at the familiar sound of his voice. she craned her neck, looking over her shoulder while brushing her hair out of the way. "ah, suna-kun," she spoke as if she didn't know, "headin' home?"

suna nodded. "what are you doing?" he realized the muffling of her words came from the facemask she wore. it accentuated her intense staring; it was all he could see.

"oh, come meet 'er." her fingers beckoned him to walk closer, like a fish being pulled in after it foolishly bit down on the bait.

"her?"

 _her,_ indeed. he stepped next to [surname], finding a cat eating hastily from between the grass blades. its fur boasted all colors; grey and orange and white and brown and black and suna understood why she liked this cat.

her long nails scratched the animal behind her ears. she didn't react as she kept munching her food. "meet nyanza-chan, she's a stray." her mask covered her lips, but he could hear the smile in her words.

"nyanza?"

"yeah, y'know." her eyes found his. they were crinkled as she raised her fist to imitate a cat paw. "nya."

suna cringed and didn't bother to hide his disgust. "don't do that ever again."

her cackles got lost when they bounced against her mask. she raised both hands in mock-surrender. "have fun on yer break, suna-kun." she forgot he couldn't see her smile as she offered him a grin.

nyanza couldn't possibly care less about the attention she was receiving. suna stood by with a confused frown. that was all, [surname] dismissed him like she hadn't been the one to pester him first.

"we have the inter-high preliminaries coming up," he blurted before he could stop himself.

"ah, i'm sure yer trainin' hard. have fun with that. yer strong so you'll manage."

"you'll be there to cheer, right?"

"maybe." she shrugged. "not like i've much of a choice."

"you don't like cheering for us?"

"it ain't that. i think you guys could win without cheatin'."

that was a first. [surname] always taught him new firsts. "cheating?"

"when we start booin' and messin' up the other team's serves. it ain't like you lot dunno what yer doing, so i don't get why we do it. not my business, anyway. foxes're sly like that, i guess."

she seemed to have put a lot of thought into that answer. nyanza finished her food, prompting [surname] to stand up and make him bite his tongue. she pulled sanitizer from her satchel, rubbed her hands clean, and tore the mask off her face. her knuckles dug into her eyes.

suna realized the reddish hue glowing around her sclera.

"are you okay?"

"'m allergic to cats," she chortled, "but i figured nyanza-chan could use my help. she was injured when i found 'er."

"sounds like something you'd do."

the beam that crept onto her lips nearly melted his eyes. "ya think?" suna only shrugged. [surname] laughed, and now he could hear it loud and clear. "see ya after break, suna-kun, don't miss me too much."

"friendly reminder i have your number." yet he never messaged her.

"that won't do. i spend my summer breaks away at my grandparents' farm. not a very good signal there." her giggles flowed smoothly like crystal water in a river. "i won't bother ya for a while, so get some rest. have fun with your volley stuff." the same fingers that had reeled him closer waved goodbye.

she fixed her grip on her satchel, cooing nyanza's name one last time before separating for the summer. the cat didn't even know she had a name as she clawed her fleas away. [surname] chuckled to herself and started her walk home down the sidewalk.

suna glared at her back while it moved far from him. "[surname]." he surprised himself sometimes.

[surname] almost tripped over her own two feet. she turned towards him, eyes soft and round. "yeah?"

"send me one more before you go."

"send…? a… color?" she mumbled. a frown wrinkled her forehead. 

suna simply nodded in response. he really should learn to keep his mouth shut.

"oh. well. i guess nyanza works."

"the cat?"

"that, too," she laughed. "i named her nyanza 'cause she was covered in leaves when we met." her gaze fell onto the colorful cat.

he followed her. "so nyanza is green?" 

"yeah, lemme just…" her phone popped out from the sleeve of her shirt. he watched as she tapped her thumbs on the screen to input her password; it seemed long. "wait, no." and then she locked it and hid it away.

suna's brows furrowed in a knee-jerk reaction.

[surname] pointed her finger up to the tree providing them shelter from the scorching sun. "these leaves're just right. nyanza's a light shade of green right in the middle of green and yellow. like these leaves."

"oh. thanks, i guess."

"well, my job here's done. see ya, nyanza-chan, suna-kun." she tossed a wave over her shoulder. her hair swayed as she disappeared down the street with weightless steps.

suna nodded and muttered, "see you." he wanted to stay under the rustling nyanza leaves for a second longer.


	10. 66%

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> H 0% S 0% V 66%

**_last online july_** _20th._ suna had already memorized those words beneath [surname]'s profile picture. true to her word, she vanished from the face of the earth for their summer break. after learning about nyanza—both the cat and the color—, he returned to a monochrome world of fading saturation.

with his phone glued to his hand for the most part of his day, he ended up checking her chatroom far more than he cared to admit. her last message to him had been on tuesday, july 17th. ironically, it was a shade of grey.

 _timberwolf,_ she had typed with an unnecessary amount of exclamation points, _it's patented by crayola, so i don't like it._ multiple stickers of a disgusted character followed. suna remembered he had picked up his phone because of its pestering vibrations.

but timberwolf didn't stick to him as gainsboro had. [surname] didn't like it and he figured neither did he. it was another uninteresting name for such a dull color that was grey.

he scrolled up into past conversations. tuscany, mellow yellow, skobeloff, cadet, ecru, keppel, b'dazzled blue. suna chuckled. she had switched from typing to voice messaging him so she could rant about blue and why she loved it so much. a color that is rare in nature; it's not a pigment, but a structure.

sighing, he hurried to the bottom of the chat. his eyes flickered up to the same four words: _last online july 20th._ suna had expected her usual _good mornin'!_ text the following saturday, and even anticipated a flurry of stickers to celebrate the summer.

his morning was dull and colorless as he transitioned into summer by himself.

a shadow loomed over him. suna craned his neck upwards to meet atsumu's curious gaze. "[surname]?" he read the name on the screen. "that the chick ya like?"

suna grimaced at him, his lips curling into a frown. a piercing pain in his temple made him wonder if his braincells were slowly killing themselves.

"'samu mentioned somethin' 'bout her." atsumu taunted him with that innocent grin he pasted on his lips. his eyes seemed to smile.

"i don't like her."

atsumu hummed. "'samu says ya flirt with her on a daily basis."

well, it turned out _'samu_ wasn't any better than atsumu as he had originally thought. "i don't," he sighed.

"uh-huh, she ghostin' ya?"

his fingers tightened around his phone. he locked it and shoved it inside his pocket. "she's away at a farm."

"and why're ya checkin' her chat?"

suna glanced to the side. "i dunno," he mumbled while shrugging.

atsumu's glare burned—it didn't compare to [surname]'s, but it bit at his skin with annoying fangs. he chuckled and whipped around. "yo, 'samu, get over here, you wanna hear this!"

suna cringed, both at atsumu's sudden yelling and the thought of having to deal with both miyas at the same time. osamu jogged over to the bleachers with a cocked brow.

"guess who this guy's missin'." atsumu jutted his thumb towards suna.

osamu frowned. his eyes darted between his brother and suna. the sound of the gears turning in his brain was practically deafening. "oh." his eyes lit up like a lightbulb. "[surname]-san." he seemed excited for half a second.

"jackpot."

"i knew ya liked 'er." osamu stared at him with that uninterested gaze of his. he stated his words as if they were a proven fact.

"i don't."

"sure doesn't look like it."

"i just got used to her colors or something."

"what's that?" atsumu interjected, lips curled into an amused smile. "sounds like some sappy shit."

osamu hummed and turned to his brother. "they flirt weird. they talk 'bout colors and stuff."

with eyes wide, atsumu stepped back hastily. "no way!" his palm slapped against his chest in mock-shock. suna grimaced. "sunarin?! _our_ sunarin?! holdin' a conversation?!" he grinned like a proud parent, flicking nonexistent tears off his eyes.

"impressive, i know." osamu patted suna's shoulder as he nodded to his twin. "he makes the effort ta keep it going, askin' questions and stuff."

atsumu's cackles echoed in the gym. "man, i wanna shake this girl's hand. [surname], you said?"

"i'll invite her to practice. how 'bout it, suna?"

"no, don't do that." his reply hopped out of his mouth faster than light.

"oh? well, color me curious."

osamu snorted. "ya geddit? 'cause—"

"stop." suna rolled his eyes, rising from his seat at the bleachers with slumped shoulders. he didn't spare another glance at the twins as he resumed his free practice.

he knew better than to let those two idiots get to him and tangle him in their antics. he couldn't be bothered to sit idly while listening to their taunts.

his phone vibrated from inside his pocket. even if he knew it wasn't [surname], his eyes scanned the notification with hopes of getting just one more color to learn about. it bothered him. he _had_ gotten used to her colors. it was so annoying.


	11. 50%

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> H 0% S 0% V 50%

**summer passed him** by. like a car to a civilian in a traffic accident, it rolled over suna with waves of unbearable heat and muscle-straining serve practices. july blended into august the same way blue faded into orange during those late sunsets. he had never thought he'd be willingly staring at the sun fall into the sky. he accidentally caught a glimpse one dull afternoon and unconsciously incorporated it into his routine.

was it gold? sunset orange? pale cyan? he didn't know any colors beside the ordinary red, yellow, blue, and their mixtures.

much like the sun sinking into the horizon, august disappeared when he flipped the page of his calendar. september rose above the heat as if it were the moon illuminating the night sky.

suna concluded he didn't like the moon. it never bothered him, he never paid any mind to it. but it was so bright and white and blinding and it drowned out the deep blue around it.

maybe he was starting to understand why [surname] called him black and white; why [surname] called him blinding and hard to read. he found annoyance in understanding.

 **[surname] [name] was** annoying—not really. if she hadn't approached him, suna would've never acknowledged she existed anywhere near him. but once he did, there was no going back.

she had a strong presence he couldn't ignore. she forced herself into a routinely part of his life, dyeing his days with vibrant hues he hadn't even thought of. those weekend _good mornin's_ and daily doses of sugar became a welcomed change.

of course he missed it. it felt odd to abruptly stop something that had been going on for months. it impressed him how [surname] simply managed to make herself click seamlessly some place she didn't belong. all until she decided to pull away and find herself a new, more interesting place.

it was so annoying how she just never stayed put.

 **if he slumped** over his desk any longer, his spine would adopt an unhealthy curve forever. his back will be eternally thankful towards [surname] and her deafening group of friends.

the door slammed open, making suna jolt his shoulders in sleepy surprise. [surname] skipped inside and to the center of the classroom. a glistening smile stretched her lips into her cheeks.

"good mornin', everybody!"

shijiki was the first one to scramble out of her seat. the corner of a neighboring desk dug into her hip and her ankles twisted as she toppled to the floor. she caught her fall with her palms, pushing herself back onto her feet in an instant. her arms wrapped around [surname]'s waist before anyone could blink.

had suna been any more drowsy with his usual morning daze, he would've mistaken shijiki for a feral wolf. as she bawled into [surname]'s chest and offered to carry her satchel for her, she looked more like a clingy puppy. compared to her, suna didn't get to say he had missed [surname].

the squeals of her friends were too much to handle first thing in the morning after month and a half of peace. they engulfed [surname] in a group-hug. suna heard yelps and stomps as they stumbled to the floor. among the intelligible screeches, he started making out coherent sentences.

"we missed ya so much!"

"'twas worse than last year!"

"summer's long without ya, [name]-chan!"

yeah, suna could agree, but he wasn't hollering it to the wind.

"hey, [surname]-chan," called a deep voice, keeping a safe distance from the dog-pile of tears and cackles, "take us with ya next year, will ya?"

[surname] laughed her trademark _ahahaha!_ giggles. "don't hold me to it, nabu-kun."

"up ya go," _nabu-kun_ grunted. suna craned his neck backwards to see a fellow classmate—nabuhiko something—pulling the rumbustious girls to their feet.

they chirped a friendly _thanks!_ in return as they collectively smoothed out the wrinkles on their skirts. someone squeaked when her friend started swiping at her back to dust off her blazer. nabuhiko laughed with them, patted [surname]'s head, and returned to his seat with a grin on his face.

suna felt his skin crawl. he wondered for half a second if he had a colony of ants trailing up and down his arms. it didn't take too long to realize he was feeling [surname]'s eyes pricking him like needles.

he had nearly forgotten that sensation. so intense and uncomfortable and annoying.

shijiki's brows dipped into a scowl. she flung a poisonous, uncalled-for glare at him while looming behind [surname]. her limbs locked onto [surname] as she hugged her like a koala to a tree.

suna cocked a brow at shijiki's unnecessary hostility. he couldn't decide if he preferred that venomous glower or [surname]'s razor-sharp, unnerving staring. when he faced front again, he decided that—despite not being an option—anything was better than osamu's smug smirks.

definitely the worse twin. osamu's shoulder bounced when he laughed. "sure didn't miss her, didja?" his brows motioned towards [surname] prying shijiki's arms off her.

suna massaged his temples, grumbling, "how was i so blind? you're much worse than atsumu."

"who's atsumu?"

he almost choked on his spit at the sound of [surname]'s voice. his eyes flew wide open in surprise. osamu snickered as suna turned to meet her gaze.

[surname] grinned at him. she really did like carving herself a place to belong. it was probably uncomfortable to stay for too long. "good mornin', suna-kun, miya-kun. hope yer summer break went well."

"same to ya, [surname]-san, how was it?" well, maybe osamu wasn't _that_ bad. he was either trying to spite him or give him time to recover.

"spent my time stuffin' math info in my brain."

osamu chuckled, "flunkin' math?"

[surname] shrugged. she seemed to be laughing at her own bad grades with that smile of her. "i just don't get asymptotes, y'know?"

yeah, suna didn't get her either, but he wasn't whining.

"how's studyin' at a farm like?" maybe osamu _was_ trying to spite him.

he felt her knife dig into his arm. "ah, never woulda thought suna-kun talked 'bout me, 'm flattered." her palm tore the blade away when it fell on his shoulder. it was warm.

her fingers used him as an instrument, drumming at a steady beat that invited him to join the conversation. "i mean, atsumu was practically willing to kill just to know about you."

"oh." her fingers halted. her grip was weak but very noticeable. "i'm topic of gossip in yer locker room?"

"something like that." he shrugged his shoulders on instinct. maybe if he hadn't, [surname] wouldn't have pulled away.

she instead placed her hand on her chest. her nail polish was colorless but shiny. "'m honored," she giggled.

"ya should drop by and watch practice."

osamu was, without a shadow of doubt, trying to spite him. and boy, was he succeeding. suna could physically feel the color drain from his face—not that he had any, so nobody noticed.

[surname] hummed. "i was plannin' to, actually. now that i've an invitation, can't say no, can i?"

"lookin' forward to seein' ya there, right, suna?" osamu nudged him with his elbow. suna's glare swore no mercy.

"i make no promises. don't miss me too much, you two." she patted suna's head twice, narrowing her eyes and smiling. she used that same hand to wave her fingers. "see ya guys 'round."

suna followed her with his gaze. he nodded, muttering, "see you," almost as if it were second nature.

he regretted sitting behind osamu when he met his smug expression a second time in less than an hour. osamu snickered. "she patted yer head."

"i'm aware."

"must be nice."

"i'm not a dog."

"ya seein' colors now?"

"ow, fuck!" suna hissed. he cradled his head in hands, grimacing in fake-pain. "i feel it! it's a—my braincells! they're killing themselves!"

osamu cackled and threw his head back. "yer so whipped."

"i'm not." any energy he could've had vanished with that sarcastic show of his. he buried his face in his arms. the background chatter lulled him to sleep.

 **[surname] had said** she made no promises. [surname] had said to _not hold her to it._ she didn't show up to practice that afternoon.

osamu's question tapped at his brain.

he _could_ see colors. he didn't know their names.


	12. catawba

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's the color of raisins

**mornings during tournament** days were unbelievably tiring for suna. he was excused from classes—which he figured was great—and he could sleep on the bus on the way to the stadium. but something about having to get up early, gather at the gym, board the bus, wait for the twins to stop wrestling for one second, and find a good position to sleep without straining his neck was incredibly taxing.

when [surname] approached him with weightless, skipping steps, he silently begged she wouldn't add herself to that list. he had already loaded his bag and decided to busy himself with his phone as he waited for everyone else to cooperate. an amused chuckle he knew too well reached his ears.

he looked up to find [surname] smiling at him with narrowed lids. suna shot a glance towards his team, relieved when osamu's attention was settled on choking his twin. he returned to [surname]. her eyes didn't hurt; they seemed glazed over.

her lips stretched into a glowing beam. "was gonna say good mornin', but i ain't too sure now."

suna sighed, "good morning, [surname]."

"good mornin', suna-kun," [surname] giggled, using her fingers to fix the collar of his tracksuit. it didn't need any fixing, but that wasn't going to stop her and neither was suna. "anyway, catawba."

he winced at the unexpected sound of rattling inside plastic. [surname] rose her hand to his field of vision, showing a clear container filled with raisins. he cringed internally as she shook the fruit like a maraca.

she chortled at his stupefied silence and confused frown. "i won't be cheerin' this time, so i thought i'd say whatever now. just ta be polite, y'know? take 'em, they're good for ya." she inched the raisins closer to him. the plastic poked his chest.

suna glared down at her hand with a disgusted grimace. "i don't like raisins."

"huh."

"sor—"

"d'ya know if miya-kun does? i packed enough to last two or three days just for you."

"don't you have friends?" he rose a brow, still eyeing the container with contempt. they were simply harmless raisins, but he wouldn't be caught dead eating them.

[surname] shook her head, humming. "seems raisins ain't a very popular fruit. maybe i'll bring a pear next time, such noble fruits they are."

how could a fruit be noble? it was too early to ask or care. especially to care. suna wondered if he could handle her nonsense at such ungodly hours of the day.

it seemed she couldn't handle it herself. she swayed from side to side involuntarily before losing balance. suna could only stare while she saved her face from meeting the ground.

he sighed and stretched out his palm. "i'll give them to osamu, he eats anything." his statement made her smile grow.

[surname] laughed her _ahahaha!_ giggles. they died out before she could reach the last _ha_ as she yawned. tears pricked at the corner of her eyes. "any tips for sleepin' on yer desk, suna-kun?" she found his gaze with her own drowsy one. the container fell on his hand.

this girl was definitely not used to getting up with the sun.

"did you wake up early just for a handful of raisins?"

"i wouldn't say _just._ raisins're good and so's sayin' _thank you, [surname], i will make sure to eat every last one._ "

suna couldn't help the chuckle that ran through his body, making his shoulder bounce for a brief second. he painted a faint smile on his lips. "you look like you're about to collapse any second." he flicked her forehead to test his theory.

"yer well-being's worth the sacrifice."

"i'm sure shijiki would destroy me if anything happened to you."

"misa-chan?" her pitch rose into an incredulous octave higher. "but she's so nice, though."

"no comment."

[surname] giggled again, and this time she managed to finish the full set. she waved her fingers, entrusting the raisins to suna's hand. "have fun, suna-kun. see ya."

suna nodded. "see you." he watched as [surname] disappeared into the school.

the fruit inside the container rattled when he went to pocket it. he frowned at it, hesitating over his following actions. the lid popped open and he picked the smallest raisin he could see. it took two seconds of chewing to decide he despised these things.

wait, what the fuck was catawba?

 **itachiyama secured first** place and left inarizaki for second. as promised, suna couldn't find [surname]'s face booing for the opposing teams. he received one message from her before the finals about _xanthic_ , or as she described it, _tolerable yellow_.

ginjima glanced at him with a raised brow when he snickered at itachiyama's tolerable yellow jerseys.

the ride back to school was just as usual. with the tournament adrenaline and excitement dissipating along the last days of summer, the team knocked out cold as soon as they sat down. the twins were pleasantly quiet and not at each other's throat, aran wasn't having a breakdown, and akagi's cheerful energy focused on whatever dream was making him twitch in his sleep.

not that suna realized any of this considering he was the first one to submit to exhaustion as soon as kita stopped talking. which meant he was the first one up to catch atsumu's drooling on video and patiently wait for osamu to wake up to his brother's saliva coating his hair.

he managed to record the left hook atsumu dodged, but then flinched in disgust when the collateral damage landed some spit on his cheek. curses slipped from between his teeth. thank the stars he didn't need to spend more time with these heathens.

four days? too much. all he wanted was to get down from the bus and go home. please.

with his bag aggressively slung over his shoulder, suna was willing to sprint to the gym to get away from the daily miya wrestling contest. he could still feel the foreign drool on his skin.

as he rubbed his sleeve on his cheek once again, a chill ran down his spine. needles buried deep into his arms, melting together into a knife to slice him open in half. it disappeared not a second later. his feet halted at the feeling he knew all too well.

[surname] stood trying to catch her breath on the steps of a neighboring gym. he could see her chest heaving and the puffs of her exhausted gulps of air. she wiped the sheet of sweat coating her face with the cotton towel around her shoulders.

her gaze stabbed into his. suna tried not to jump at the abruptness of her intensity. his shoulders jolted involuntarily and he took a step back. he thought he had gotten used to her; [surname] always surprised.

her brows rose and a wide grin pulled at her lips. he didn't know what color her eyes were, but he knew they glimmered upon falling on him. "how'd it go?"

"good to see you, too."

"yeah, hi, hello, good afternoon. so?" her smile could easily burn him with its brightness.

"we got second place."

"against the xanthic team?"

"tolerable yellow, yes."

[surname] laughed. it wasn't her usual giggles he had already imprinted his brain. it started like scraping a rock against the asphalt and then regular chortles bubbling from her chest. suna preferred this one over her weightless, almost practiced giggles. she sounded human.

"oh! thanks for the raisins, [surname]-san!" their attention turned towards osamu. he waved his arm in the air to catch [surname]'s attention as he headed into the gym.

[surname] returned the enthusiastic wave. suna wondered how her cheeks didn't hurt. "anytime, miya-kun!"

osamu flashed him a slanted smirk; if suna had had any strength left in him, he would've definitely smacked a ball into his face. he sighed with more volume than intended. yeah, osamu had entrusted the empty raisins container to him, he'd forgotten about that.

[surname]'s attention fell back on him. her eyes didn't burn and he was more than thankful. he pulled out the container from his bag, inching closer to her.

"what did you say that morning?"

she accepted her own belonging as if it were a gift made especially for her. he could see her fumbling around the archives in her head. "pears are noble fruit?" her lips puckered as she bit the inside of her cheek.

"before that."

"oh." she stopped to blink. "catawba."

"is that a color?" suna couldn't raise his voice any higher. he cringed at his own hesitance.

[surname]'s lips twitched. she tried holding back her smile. "yer catchin' on quick, ain't ya?"

the grin that broke out on her face was contagious. suna allowed a faint simper to settle on his mouth. he shrugged.

she walked down the steps, shoulders bouncing as she laughed. "yeah, it's a wine typa purple, the color of raisins. such noble fruit." her sharpened gaze didn't stab him when she stood right before him. "like you."

what?

"how can a—? i'm noble fruit?"

"yeah, you really are."

"what is that supposed to mean?"

"s'amusin' that ya still choose ta question my words." suna stayed quiet and allowed her chortles to wrap around him. "i've no proof, but neither doubts. yer noble fruit; take it or leave it. though i'd prefer it if you took it." her free palm rested on his shoulder after two pats.

"i'm noble fruit, i guess." he was mindful of his second-nature shrugging.

her hand stayed on him. "good to know." as sharp as her piercing eyes were, they clicked warmly into his own.

"are you going to tell me what you're on about? or do i have to guess?"

"it'll keep ya up at night?"

"probably." suna was more than disappointed in himself when he shrugged. she pulled her hand away.

[surname] hummed. "noble fruits're beneficial to the human body; they do us good. i think yer the same ta me." her glimmering grin softened into a smile.

"you phrased that weird."

"wouldja like to differ?"

"it's your call." his simper didn't budge as he chuckled. "if you want to think that, i can't stop you."

suna decided he liked her laughter better when it originated from her chest. she turned on her heels to climb back up the steps. "now i've proof and zero doubts. yer noble fruit, suna-kun, yer welcome."

"thank you."

"so fitting, too." her feet seemed to be made of weightless feathers. "purple and royalty and a noble knight in maroon tracksuit. or maybe i'm pushin' it."

suna blinked. just when he thought he was finally managing to keep up with her, she spouted more colorful nonsense he didn't know the name of. every conversation, a new surprise.

"[name]-chan!" called a voice from inside the gym. it didn't sound as shrill as shijiki's. "come back 'ere, girl, we ain't done yet!" whoever this voice was clapped her hands. [surname] puffed a giggle.

"club?" suna asked.

[surname] twisted her knife into his throat. he couldn't help but flinch. "naw, i'm helpin' out the dance club for the sports festival. since our band's busy with you guys, the team's in charge of puttin' on a show next month."

"sorry about that?" [surname] shrugged. "good luck, then."

"see ya tomorrow, suna-kun." she waved her fingers as a goodbye before skipping into the gym.

suna nodded. "see you," he mumbled in response while heading to his team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know it ends kinda abruptly oops. it was late and i was in so much pain, so in retrospect, i shouldnt have been writing


	13. chartreuse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's the color between yellow and green.

**"wouldja look at** that?"

suna flinched instantly at the familiar voice stabbing him between the shoulder blades. he made a mental note to never trust osamu again—asshole told him he had seen [surname] leave the school already.

he pulled his hand away from nyanza, but she still wanted pets and brushed against his shins. suna craned his neck to peer backwards, meeting with [surname]'s glistening eyes digging into him. she grinned at him.

"can't tell if i'm bein' replaced by nyanza-chan or by suna-kun."

he shrugged as he rose from the floor. "whichever hurts the most, i guess." nyanza yelled at him for attention. it seemed [surname] was being replaced by suna-kun.

her annoying _ahahaha!_ giggles flooded over her lips and pooled at his feet. "i'd battle with her, but s'my loss before even tryin'. can't compete against cat hair."

"so you don't want me to replace you with a cat?"

"or with anythin', for that matter. least not 'til i'm done."

"with what?" suna cocked a brow.

[surname] stood right in front of him. her eyes locked onto his like two puzzle pieces clicking together. it didn't feel forced, it didn't make him cringe. he still couldn't find the strength to be at peace with them, but he didn't hate the looks she gave him anymore. 

her smile made his stomach ache. "nyanza-chan's still here 'cause curiosity ain't caught her yet. don't let it drag ya too far either, suna-kun."

she never stopped moving, she just couldn't stay put. prancing around like a goat in the mountains, carefreely stomping on any coherence that wasn't useful to her. he didn't mind her eyes, but on god, her words made him wonder if they spoke the same language.

[surname] always found a new way to be annoying. he should've walked away.

"what are you saying?"

"did i tell ya nyanza is a lighter shade of chartreuse?" again she moved. she danced around his questions with weightless twirls and floating skips.

suna sighed, "i don't even know what chartreuse is."

"the middle point between yellow and green. not that we know yellow, anyway."

she shrugged her shoulders, dismissing her own words as soon as they hopped off her tongue. he wished he had the ability to do the same; ignore her statements to pretend they didn't keep him thinking. she forced him to search for a meaning that probably didn't exist.

[surname]'s fingers looped around his wrist. she prodded his nails while smiling at him. "before it leaves, make a wish in the summer glow. ya could learn s'better to be rid of yellow. ya might not be able ta keep up with it."

"i can't even keep up with you."

she laughed. it was that human laughter suna liked better. "see ya, suna-kun, have a good afternoon." she dropped his hand and let it swing by his side.

"i still don't know what chartreuse looks like."

"i can fix that."

"see you." he nodded. [surname] waved her fingers as she disappeared down the street.


	14. 34%

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> H 0% S 0% V 34%

**"i'll drop by** ta watch practice, s'that cool?" [surname]'s question accompanied the usual _good mornin'_ and a pair of chuupets.

suna's shoulders moved on instinct as he tore open the plastic packet in his hand. osamu raised a questioning brow at him and he was starting to understand the twin telepathy he had with atsumu. he stared back while savoring the sugar.

osamu turned to [surname] and nodded. "sure. see ya there."

[surname] grinned and one of her annoying, practiced giggles fell from her lips. "have a good day, then. see ya!" she waved her fingers before skipping her way back to her seat.

"see you," suna muttered as he followed her with his eyes. he faced front only to meet osamu's judging gaze. "what?"

"coward."

he slammed his forehead against his desk.

 **[surname] had asked** **.** suna had shrugged. osamu had nodded.

it had been established she would show up at practice in the afternoon—as much as he dreaded the moment. she strolled into the gym with those weightless steps that made her seem to be floating. her eyes found his for a brief second and she smiled at him.

all was good. she stayed quiet, without drawing any attention towards her, sitting down at the bleachers. her cat-like glare didn't hurt.

"[surname]-chan! you came!"

suna flinched as osamu waved his arm. _-chan_? when did he upgrade her to _-chan_? he flashed suna his famous taunting smirk, both watching how _[surname]-chan_ reciprocated the enthusiastic wave with a beaming grin.

all was good. it was still good. [surname] remained in the shadows and osamu bared his mocking fangs just to spite him. she settled cross-legged on the bleachers, busying herself with a mechanical pencil and crinkled papers. it would be somewhat bothersome to feel her eyes on him, but not impossible to deal with. suna didn't hate them, after all.

"hey, 'tsumu," osamu called to his brother. suna considered skipping practice. the older twin joined the conversation. "that's our [surname]-chan." he helped line atsumu's vision with the girl staring blankly at her grid paper.

atsumu glanced between suna and [surname], an amused grin creeping onto his lips. he didn't say a single word as he speed-walked his way across the gym. osamu trailed behind him after offering suna a mirror image of his twin's expression. 

between sitting though kita's lecture for randomly skipping practice and enduring the dull ache of his braincells comitting suicide, suna chose brain damage. the sigh slipping from his lips was heavy enough to give anyone a concussion. he reached the trio in time to see [surname]'s beam fall off her face as she stared up at atsumu.

her unblinking eyes flitted between both twins, back and forth, again and again. suna wondered why neither of them cringed at the intensity of her dilated pupils resembling an abyss promising to swallow them without hesitation. atsumu counterattacked her glistening knife trying to twist into his chest with a second-nature smile that practically threatened to gulp her down alive.

[surname] never failed to surprise suna. she blinked and a gentle simper pulled her lips upwards. "there's two miya-kuns."

his own saliva stuck at the back of his throat in sheer puzzlement. "what? [surname], you didn't know?" he slammed his fist against his chest to recompose himself. the twins couldn't mock him as they gawked at [surname] perplexed.

"that miya-kun comes in different colors?" she snorted at suna's wide eyes, smile widening with amusement. "no, i didn't."

"i thought you came to cheer for us?"

"yeah, 'course i do."

"so?"

her gaze shifted back to the identical brothers. she admired their different hair colors with a sparkling gaze. "cheerin' and watchin're different things. i never realized this. yer twins!" her teeth glistened underneath the gym lights while she gestured to the pair.

atsumu was the first to snap out of his stupor. he took a step back, one palm landing on osamu's shoulder, the other one hitting his own chest. "what?!" he gasped, "no! us?! twins?! really?!"

"mom shoulda told us," osamu followed his brother, "i feel cheated!"

"duped!"

"deceived!"

[surname] allowed her _ahahaha!_ giggles to spill. "i see the charm runs in the family." and she giggled again. suna couldn't help but cringe at their annoying sound; he really didn't like them one bit.

"i disagree. i clearly took all of it."

osamu stabbed his twin with his elbow. "ya didn't spend 'nough time in the womb to develop charm, fuckwit."

atsumu returned the unnecessary blow by knocking the base of his palm against osamu's forehead. suna sighed and stepped away from them before they tangled him in their fraternal wrestling. osamu charged to tackle his brother, but atsumu's arms wrapped tightly around his neck and held him in a chokehold. they grunted curses at each other.

[surname] chortled at their antics. at least someone found it funny. suna rolled his eyes. "so miya—uh—san? miya-san?" she glanced towards suna for help with furrowed brows. suna shrugged, disinterested. "so miya-san is the oldest?"

"he's miya-kun but 'm miya-san? don't like that very much." his grip on osamu tightened. osamu grumbled about _terrible body odor, ya even bathe?_

her smile was sweet enough to make suna's blood sugar levels rise exponentially. "atsumu-kun, then?"

"like music to my ears." atsumu's lips slanted into his trademark smirk. osamu took advantage of his guard dropping and slipped away from his hold.

"s'osamu-kun fine with ya, miya-ku—osamu-kun? miya-kun?" osamu lowered his fist before he could clock atsumu when [surname]'s eyes landed on him. suna raised a brow as he visibly flinched.

"sure, s'fine." he shrugged.

[surname] offered her hand to atsumu—suna couldn't decide whether he was the worse or better twin anymore. "s'one more syllable than i work with, but i'll settle for [name] ta make things even."

"pleasure ta meetcha, [name]-chan." atsumu wrapped his fingers around [surname]'s palm, giving it a firm shake. he added a friendly chuckle and smiling eyes for good measure.

"pleasure's mine, atsumu-kun." she didn't drop his hand until after a few, seemingly endless seconds, almost as if she wasn't aware of basic human interaction. "have fun with practice, ya guys." her attention switched back to suna.

her gaze didn't pierce into him when it found his. the color of her irises seeped underneath his skin calmly, painlessly, making sure it didn't alarm or hurt him. suna realized he couldn't hate the looks she gave him anymore, he had forgotten how. now he welcomed them as annoying as they remained.

 **kita announced a** short recess after wrapping up their usual routine. suna cringed at the flash of teeth whizzing past his vision. atsumu's slanted smirk made him sigh internally. he snatched his water bottle from a bench before darting his way to [surname] with bouncing steps.

osamu slapped his palm against suna's shoulder. he chuckled to himself when suna glared daggers into his eyes. clapping his back mockingly, he followed after his brother to chat [surname] up for fun.

suna had no other choice than to join their circus, albeit from the sidelines. he wiped his face with a cotton towel and hoped to bump into either of the twins as payback.

he regretted his decision almost instantly when the first thing to reach his exhausted ears was atsumu's daring question. "ya thought 'bout becomin' a cheerleader?"

suna blinked owlishly at him. [name] giggled at the suggestion, waving her hand dismissively. "never, i don't do well with clubs." her practiced laughter only became more obnoxious every time he heard it.

"ya oughta give it a shot. 'm sure you'll like it."

"who knows? don't knock it 'til ya try it, they say." she laughed again, and atsumu joined her with carefree chuckles.

suna desperately wanted the terrifying image of a cheerleading [surname] out of his head. if she was annoying now as a mere watcher, having her wave a pair of pompoms during official games would certainly drain the life out of him. he mentally begged the miyas to clamp their mouths shut.

osamu leaned against the bleachers while peering down at her math homework. he hadn't completed it either, that was for sure. he found [name]'s eyes with a lopsided smile. "f'not, you can apply for manager here. we're needin' one."

the milder yet somehow bolder suggestion slipped out of osamu's mouth. of course. any second now they would pressure her into trying out assistant coach despite her clear lack of knowledge.

but [name] swerved around their words again with robotic giggles suna loathed. "no way," she chortled, her palm waving up and down, "too much fer me. much rather stick to helpin' 'round."

"commitment not yer thing?" atsumu bent his back to align [surname]'s gaze with his.

she laughed, "when ya put it like that, don't sound very good."

atsumu hummed. he rested his chin on his knuckles in mid-air. "maybe a personal cheerleader?" [surname] snorted like atsumu's specialty was comedy rather than tossing balls that didn't make it to suna at all during this afternoon. "if it's only ya cheerin', 'm sure i can serve just fine."

"if i'm available someday, i'll let ya know, atsumu-kun."

her voice dissolved into honey when it flowed into the gym like a clear stream of glimmering water, cascading down her lips ingrained with bits of sugar. the toothy grin she offered the twin glistened blindingly underneath the artificial lights. sweetness radiated off [name] in deadly waves of sickness.

suna cringed to himself, watching the exchange of innocent smiles. it burned the roof of his mouth and churned his stomach. he cleared his throat. "hey, kita-san is calling you." he glanced back at the captain chatting idly with his friends.

it was a plus in his book that the miyas didn't think much when kita was involved. they didn't question his statement or even try to confirm whether kita was actually calling them. which he wasn't, but sometimes they knew better than to push their lucks. with bouncing shoulders and muttered curses, they excused themselves to flee the scene before they could feel kita's glare on them.

[name] waved to them as they darted their way to their captain, puffing a chuckle at their stiff backs. her attention shifted to suna. he remained standing by the bleachers, away from her but close enough to flinch at her smile.

her eyes sunk into the color of his glare.

she sighed, her pencil tapped rhythmically against her incomplete homework. "i've tried cheerin' before and got bored pretty quick."

"i didn't say anything."

"yer eyes're judgin' me."

"i was born with this face." 

"i know," [surname] chortled. she motioned with her head towards the twins nodding to whatever kita was saying. "a lively fella, atsumu-kun. makes me green. d'ya think he'll tutor me?" the led of her pencil snapped. it left a scratch of grey on the empty paper.

"why?"

"misa-chan gave up on me, an' atsumu-kun seems smart."

as if one was better than the other, suna pressed, "what about osamu?"

"i like red better." suna closed his eyes to allow her words a place underneath his skin and merge with his bloodstream. when he opened them again, her nonsense still didn't make sense. [name] shrugged at him. "kita-senpai's callin' ya."

he stared for longer than he would usually be comfortable with. the sentences died at the tip of his tongue. maybe if he bled, he could use what he had incorporated from her.

"i'll walk you home today."

[name] blinked, brows shooting into her forehead. her pupils dilated into a swallowing black hole, absorbing all light to fade the surrounding saturation into grey. suna hated the grey more than her gaze. "sure. i'll show ya the amaranth bush long overdue." she offered her open palm to him.

the color of her skin, the color of her shirt, the color of her skirt, the color of her eyes. they returned when her pupils shrank into piercing needles that suna didn't mind anymore. he wondered what names they had as he shook her hand to seal the deal. maybe he could ask her later.


	15. razzmatazz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's the color of his loss.

**the rich red** headband on his head contrasted with the pale color of his skin. [name] grinned brightly at him with her own white headband in hand. she forced it into his palm. suna quirked a questioning brow as he stared down at it.

"wouldja tie it fer me?" she spun around on her heels, clasping her hands behind her back. a lively tune swam into the air while she bounced on the balls of her feet.

suna huffed out a sigh. not at [name] and her spontaneity—he hadn't gotten completely used to them, but he couldn't say they bothered him anymore. [name] chuckled to herself as he wrapped her headband neatly, careful not to pull at her hair on accident.

he tightened the knot with a bit too much force out of playfulness. "there." her shoulders stiffened and she whipped around in an instant. suna feigned innocence with a smile.

"yours's crooked." it wasn't, though. her fingers were tugging at the red fabric before he could protest. she acted quick and softly flicked his forehead. his smile widened. "seems fittin'," she commented, arms akimbo as she gazed at the color.

suna glanced up in a failed attempt to see the headband. "i thought i was colorless."

"i mean, red suits ya." [name] laughed. it wasn't the practiced giggles or the bubbling cackles. this one was new, a rumble behind closed lips. not his favorite, but better than seeming a robot. then again, when did he start ranking her laughter?

"care to expand?"

"i'm learnin' with ya, suna-kun. red looks real good on you. brings out yer eyes."

"white suits you, i guess." although he couldn't tell if it did, returning her words would most likely please her.

her _ahahaha!_ giggles spilled and pooled at their feet. suna wanted to kick them away. so annoying. he really hated them. "i ever told ya i like yer eyes?"

a chuckle slipped. "that explains why you love eye contact so much."

her laughter this time bubbled from inside her chest. the grin on her lips crinkled her eyes, yet they always found their way to his own. "by the way," she remembered, digging her hand into her backpack. "noble fruit for a noble fruit. or s'that cannibalism?" she presented him with a clear container.

he could see the pear carefreely cut into cubes packed together inside the hard plastic. suna cringed at the idea of fruit cannibalism, but laughed nonetheless. "i'll take the pear, thanks." he nodded his head while accepting the container from her. [surname] smiled warmly at him.

far in the distance, away where the enthusiastic first-years vibrated with excited anticipation for their first high-school sports festival, music signalled the start of competition. the dance club walked on stage and took the responsibility of pumping every student up with polished synchronization. juvenile chants and cheers echoed around the inarizaki campus.

suna stared uninterested at the kids letting the tunes grab hold of their bodies to sway them and everyone else along. beside him, [name] imitated their moves, albeit smaller and with less charisma. it clicked in his brain. she twirled in place, a shining beam pulling at her lips.

he stabbed his finger on her side to stop her from hitting him with her flowing hands. [name] squeaked and halted, eyes blinking owlishly at him. "shouldn't you be up there?" suna nodded towards the stage.

"eh? ah. oh. naw." all emotions known to humans swept over her face in a millisecond. she dismissed them with a shrug, resuming her quiet dancing. "just helped 'em out with the choreo an' positions an' stuff. i know a thing or two 'bout dance, but not enough _to_ dance."

"how do you manage to say that while dancing right in front of me?" suna stepped away from her swinging arm. thank the volleyball reflexes.

yet not even those sharpened reflexes could save him from [surname]'s swift claws as they grasped his wrist. "well, dancin's pretty fun, ya know. dontcha think?" she spun herself underneath his arm, mimicking the students on stage with their own assigned partners. "i leave the spotlight an' the whole razzmatazz to 'em, though—oh!" her grip vanished while she clapped her hands. "that's a good color!"

"what?" suna blinked. a smile rose to his mouth at the sheer absurdity of her random prancing. how she never got tired from jumping around subjects was beyond him.

"razzmatazz!" [name] clapped again. "i'll show it to ya f'the red team wins."

he rose a brow at the declaration. "what if the white team wins?"

her cackles were genuinely human, originating from the core of her chest. "then you'll have ta live without it. learnin's more fun when it challenges ya."

 **black and white.** colorless. [name] had made it clear since the first time she spoke a single word to him.

suna didn't know what it meant. when the white team won, he thought he was starting to understand. he decided against searching the color up on his own. it wouldn't have been the same.

he had to live without it in a monotonous world reigned by colorlessness. he didn't want to anymore, so he would sit and wait to win the next one.


	16. 17%

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> H 0% S 0% V 17%

**[name] realized how** sluggishly suna moved after practice. at first, she had accepted it as his natural pace; bored and exhausted and monochrome. it took her a couple months of spending time with him to notice he only slowed down when he was tired.

he had always looked tired, so her assumptions were somewhat justified.

she could hear him trudging his feet behind her. it made her wonder why he bothered walking her home. she laughed to herself.

her fingers looped around his wrist, tugging at his arm to catch his attention. suna shifted his attention from his phone towards her. "let's take a second, suna-kun." she nodded towards a bench. her eyes stuck to his.

he looked over to the bench. before he could even think about answering, [name] dragged him with her. she settled on the seat and patted the spot next to her. suna heaved a sigh as he plopped by her side.

"spring's pretty, and summer's real nice, but—" [name] breathed in deeply, "—nothin' beats fall's beauty."

"i would've thought you liked spring better."

she chortled. "i get that a lot."

silence wrapped around them. [name] hummed a soft tune as she admired the colors surrounding her. her sights fell on suna. the black and the white and—

his eyes stared right into hers. she couldn't hold back the joyous grin stretching on her lips.

—the color.

"how 'bout a short nap, hm?"

"come again?"

she pulled from his arm and reeled him into her. his head landed gently on her lap. "we've time."

"i don't think i can sleep." suna stared up at her with that dull yellow that seemed so vibrant.

"won't work unless ya try."

her fingers lost themselves among his hair. he exhaled while closing his eyes. [name] hoped her made-up lullaby would sing him to bed.

 **in this life,** the first color one sees is black. there has always been an endless debate about whether black is actually a color or merely the absence of it all. [surname] liked to believe it could be both; black is the base of it all, black is nothingness, and nothingness is the start of everything. black is the first color one sees when they are born before opening their eyes.

the last color one sees in this life is white. much like black, some call it a color on its own and some consider it every color at the same time. again, [name] chose to believe it was both; white is the end of everything, white is the overwhelming closure, the blinding light that calls as one breathes their last breath and ultimately dies. white is the last thing one sees as soon as they close their eyes.

black is too selfless and white is too selfish.

black introduces people to the undisturbed waters of a lake in a peaceful, moonless night; it shows how crows never leave each other's side and live a life of family; it misleads naïve humans into a world that is too safe to exist.

white burns their skin with scorching lightning during a destructive tempest; it bares its pearly fangs in the form of a hungry wolf snarling, ready to pounce and maul its prey; it shoves people into a world too dangerous to want to live in.

black and white make a perfect couple. on their own, black brings an unreal sense of comfort while white spikes up anxieties and fears. when they blend together, they complement each other, bringing to life new colors that don't lie.

between pitch black and pure white there are only ninety-eight shades of a new idea people have named grey. each is just a bit different from the other, making them all unique. grey is the in-between. grey is black but it's also white. grey is nothing but it's also everything. grey is nowhere but it's also everywhere.

grey teaches about cloudy skies on stormy afternoons and the smoke of a warm fire. it advises to respect elders and protect valuables in boxes of steel. it warns about the mold on rotten food and the forgotten bones alone by the sharp rocks.

suna was black and white from the moment [name] set her sights on him. she could learn from him as much as he could from her. maybe it was only wishful thinking.

 **he opened his** eyes to stare up at her. she had already told him she liked them. the dull yellow, the only color in him, the indication that he had a lot more going for him. she slowly began realizing suna boasted more color than she had originally given him credit for.

as she lost herself in his drowsy gaze, [name] decided suna was her grey. he was black and white and everything in the middle.

she chuckled, smiling down at him. the breeze swam through the space between them. "didja sleep well?"

suna grunted and shifted on her lap to find a more comfortable position. "how long was i out for?" he asked, using his knuckles to rub the sleepiness away.

"forty minutes? maybe?" she saw his lids open wide, his yellow irises trapping her in their hue. she really loved his eyes. "an' ya said ya wouldn't doze off."

"i didn't think i—" he cut himself off with a yawn, and then finished his sentence, "—could."

he elicited a silky giggle from [name]. she raked her fingers through his dark hair. it reminded her of when she had called it _almost black_ , ignoring brown as its own color. suna managed to prove her wrong.

his lids fluttered closed on instinct, and he couldn't help leaning into her touch. [name] grinned to herself. even with the yellow she adored so much out of her sight, suna still retained the grayish peach of his skin and the deep bistre of his hair.

a content huff pushed its way out from between her teeth. her shoulders loosened as she massaged suna's scalp with her fingertips.

he turned on the bench to face towards her stomach. "what's got you so happy?" he muttered into her leg. the skirt of her uniform was itchy, but he didn't let it bother him.

"i'm just thinkin' how yer a hypoallergenic version of nyanza-chan."

"why did i even ask?"

[name] snorted, keeping her laughter calm and quiet but still as joyous. the strokes of her fingers in his hair never ceased. "suna-kun."

he hummed.

"can we stay here a bit longer?"

suna didn't hesitate for a second. "sure."

her own eyes fluttered shut as well. suna was black, as he selflessly allowed her to fully enjoy their peaceful afternoon. suna was white, as he selfishly agreed with her because he wanted it just as much.

suna was the understanding grey she had been looking for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wanna take a moment to thank everyone that has been supporting this lil fun project of mine. i dont do well with replying to comments and such, but i really do appreciate every single one. whether youre enjoying this silently or not, thanks a bunch.
> 
> we're half-way done with this, so i hope you stick around till the end. fluff is certainly not my forte and thats why im practicing a lot more as of late. i liked this chapter anyway, with all the abstract black and white bullshit thats essentially the core of the story.
> 
> thanks again for the support. i honestly didnt expect it. take care!


	17. heliotrope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's the color of her perfume.

**his mornings long** stopped being colorless and dull when [name] invited herself into a spot of his life she didn't belong to. suna didn't mind it even if he tried—not that he _wanted_ to try. the various chuupets [name] had bought with her own money knocked and scratched his cheek when she dropped them on his desk. a flurry of vivid hues shone against his eyes and a smile crawled onto his lips.

"yer spoilin' him, [name]-chan," osamu laughed. suna never felt his expression fall faster. that _[name]-chan_ rang with such a specific tune that it bounced around his brain and made osamu's face more punchable than it should've been.

[name]'s chuckles sounded bold and lively in his early drowse. he could drown in them to forget osamu's teasing. "well, you've 'nother tournament thingy comin' up, dontcha?"

"the representatives for nationals," came suna's mumbled reply.

"my job's ta keep this guy pumped up an' alive." her fingers found their way into his hair as if they had always been meant to sit there and tangle themselves in a sea of brown. suna ignored the candy waiting to be eaten as he closed his eyes.

osamu's lips lifted. "ya don't need sugar for that."

[name] hummed. "can't think of anythin' else."

"you'll figure it out."

the weight of [name]'s wrist pressed against his skull when she shrugged. he felt her eyes washing over him with warmth. "yer hair's so soft." he could hear the smile through her voice.

"uh-huh."

she huffed. her touch disappeared from his hair, making his eyes snap open on instinct. [name] poked his lower back with her long, byzantium nail. "straighten yer back, that's _terrible_ posture."

suna jumped and jolted. just when he thought she was human, she attacked him with painted claws. the tender vanilla of her perfume engulfed him in a sweet embrace, and he realized she had smelled like floral perfection before. "new perfume?" his tongue rambled on its own. why did he ask that?

"oh, ya like it?" it was a great thing [name] never put too much thought into anything he did—unlike him. although osamu wouldn't let him live this down. she grinned at him while lifting her wrist to his nose. "s'made with heliotrope."

"expand, please." he held onto her arm with nimble fingers, stabilizing it to inhale the hint of almond hidden underneath the vanilla.

"s'a really pretty purple flower."

"i can see why you like it." he glanced up to meet her eyes. they lit up brightly at his comment.

osamu rose a brow. he flickered between suna and [name], back and forth, trying to understand when words had become useless to them. "i can't?"

both turned to him in unison. "she likes purple," suna spoke first.

[name] snorted. "i like purples," she hissed the end of her correction like a snake. "i like everythin', but purples're cute and fun. it's weird though, 'cause the perfume's a light shade of jasmine but the purple with the name's a very pretty purple."

"you said _pretty purple_ twice."

she hummed, "lovely purple?" as she leaned her weight on his shoulder.

"i'll go with that."

"i'll show it to ya later."

"i'll be waiting."

"ya'll come watch us again, [name]-chan?" osamu found her eyes with his uninterested ones. suna could've sworn he flinched.

he pushed [name] off of him with a gentle shove. "atsumu's so annoying." his brows furrowed as he gazed up at her. "he's been asking about you."

"c'mon, suna-kun," she giggled; airy notes that rumbled sweeter than jelly fruit in his hand. her hip bumped against his arm. "bein' alive s'all 'bout behavin' uncoventionally annoying."

"yeah, what she said." osamu struggled to hold back his laughter of sheer confusion. he thanked whatever deities had blessed him that [name] didn't find _him_ interesting.

suna rolled his eyes at him, keeping his sights on [name], his morning haze now vanished into the air. "so are you coming?"

the way her irises glimmered reminded him of the twinkling stars in the endless sky when the moon didn't hog the attention all to itself. "sure thing. i'm startin' ta think i might be yer heliotrope. have a good day, suna-kun, osamu-kun. see ya." she waved her fingers. the sunlight hit her nails and reflected with vibrancy.

suna nodded his head, following her as she walked away to shijiki. "see you," he spoke loud enough for her to glance over her shoulder and smile at him.

when he turned forwards again, osamu's taunting teeth glared back at him. suna rose an unamused brow to silently question him.

"so ya know her perfume, _suna-kun_?"

suna seriously contemplated decking him right then and there.


	18. flirt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's the color of his imagination.

**atsumu had always** been the more boisterous twin and the one suna watched out for with more caution. he initiated most—definitely not all—of their infamous fraternal antics, which meant that if suna wanted to avoid them, he had to read atsumu first. over a year and a half was enough to familiarize himself with the mischievous smirks that promised chaos.

when it came to [name], things had worked the same. suna knew for a fact that atsumu wouldn't be able to keep his curious nose out of anything that involved her—solely to spite him. he just knew that when atsumu found out about her, he had reached the bottom of his own grave.

he had heard _when's [name]-chan droppin' by again?_ a thousand times already. if she didn't show up for the whole week, atsumu would stare him down and smirk. _she broke up with ya, didn't she?_ they weren't dating, but it wasn't like atsumu cared.

when she did make time to watch their practice, both twins would spend their breaks using her to annoy the living shit out of suna. they could easily take over the world if they joined forces correctly. [name] was already used to osamu, but his brother was a new experience.

she always smiled up at him as he towered over her. she always spat out the right words to feed his ever-growing ego. suna held back the urge to give himself a concussion while hearing her point out the obvious.

"you've nicknames? why didn't i know 'bout this? 'tsumu and 'samu?" both twins grinned at her, stealing a glance at suna. he felt every last drop of energy dissipate from his body. "that's so cute, i love it," she giggled, but cut it short into an _ahaha!_

atsumu flashed his fangs, mocking and dripping with venomous pride. "we'll make ya [nickname]-chan, whaddaya say?"

[name] lit up the entire gym with the sparkle in her eye. "oh my, what an honor." she placed her hand on her chest. her lips dug into her cheeks and suna noticed the dimple on the left side. 

"how 'bout you, _sunarin_?" suna prayed [name] wouldn't comment on that. he flung daggers at both twins for the price of one. "d'ya think it suits her?"

[name]'s chortles resounded loud and clear, bubbly and lively. her hair swayed along with her body. "sunarin? that one's even better. can i call ya that?"

he found her gaze with his narrowed glower. "do not even try."

"huh…" her smile vanished into thin air, her lips pursed as she bit the inside of her cheek. she bent her eyebrows to magnify her pout.

suna heaved out a sigh that landed with a thump by her feet. he contemplated the words he was about to pronounce. "use rintarou if it makes you happy." he rolled his eyes, balancing between relief and regret.

he missed the way her face brightened instantly. her grin gave the full moon a run for its money. suna didn't like the moon when it drowned out the stars, but he could appreciate a smile just as glistening. he avoided looking directly at it so he wouldn't stare at her dimple.

atsumu glanced at him and then returned to his dear _[nickname]-chan._ "there's more where that came from, ya know, [nickname]-chan." he really liked attention, didn't he?

[name] laughed—whether to humor him or because she genuinely found him funny, rintarou couldn't guess. "teach me yer ways, 'tsumu-sensei."

osamu snickered at him when he instinctively clenched his jaw. the miyas definitely knew how to get under his skin.

 **sluggishly trudging behind** her allowed suna to see in detail how she managed to float while walking. every step she took appeared weightless and free, as if she lacked essence or direction. she flowed like water, fitting into the smallest of crevices and filling up the widest of spaces. she could accommodate to anything and anyone.

suna stared with attentive eyes. [name] hopped on dried leaves that indicated the change of seasons. her hair danced in the afternoon wind. she swatted it out of her face with sporadic yet careful fingers.

the gentle simper resting peacefully atop her lips whispered all the words she didn't bother to explain. the melodious tune she composed with dulcet hums and lyrical nonsense painted a harmonious picture of a content mind. no worries, no pains, no uncertainties.

she lived a simple life. she held her cards closer to her chest than it seemed. rintarou couldn't read her color like she had read him.

"should i learn how to tape yer fingers for ya?" the smile on her lips enlarged into a carefree grin. she waited for him to catch up to her. she really did move too fast. "yer hands're too pretty to get hurt."

not a single person could exist without pains and worries and uncertainties. although he had suspected [name] wasn't human, she always abided by their laws. for someone that rambled so much, she never said anything.

"rintarou-kun?"

his given name rolling off her tongue landed sweetly on his ears. he blinked back into reality, shoulders jolting.

[name] allowed a chuckle to fall. "thinkin' too much leads ya to deceivin', rintarou-kun. say it aloud, for yer sake more than mine."

when did he start growing curious about her? he could ask about her family or her dreams and ambitions or her way of living. he _wanted_ to understand every word she threw at him; every graze of skin she initiated. how she smiled at atsumu with the same brightness she used for him; how she played with his hair but found osamu's grey color to be more interesting.

suna grimaced at himself. "do you like the twins?" he didn't give himself the chance to bite his own tongue.

"oh." [name] blinked at an inconsistent pace. "'course i do, they're real fun. never a dull moment with those two."

"i mean, _physically_." he should have stopped digging his grave any deeper, but [name] was just so annoying.

"as in do i like their looks?" suna only nodded. "yeah, i admit they're attractive. very, actually."

the twisting of his stomach and the tightening of his muscles warned him he didn't want to know more than that. maybe [name] wasn't one to fit the mold, even if water fit everywhere. she would never show suna all her cards.

her dilating pupils hadn't bothered him for over a month, but suddenly he hated looking her in the eye again. that gaze she washed over him to read him like an open book when he still struggled to understand the things she communicated verbally. [name] laughed, "but that ain't the question you were goin' for."

rintarou cocked a brow. "what do you mean?" that question was useless considering she never spelled things out for him.

"i like 'em both, but i think i like 'tsumu-kun a bit more." if he could carve his eardrums out, he would. [name] clasped her hands together, gravitating around suna. "he's so full of color. 'samu-kun's the same, but he's a bit less vibrant. 'tsumu-kun's practically a rainbow to me, he has so many colors."

"unlike me."

"unlike you, exactly." either her words or her smile stung more—he couldn't tell which one. "so yeah, i like the twins, and yeah, i like 'tsumu-kun. but naw, i ain't into 'em."

"i didn't ask that." he rolled his eyes for good measure.

she blew a raspberry. "the great thing 'bout shades of grey s'that there's only ninety-eight of 'em between solid black and pure white." suna wondered if there was anyone who could make sense of her nonsense. "they're a bit tricky ta distinguish, but i can read all of 'em. took me a while, but i learned."

suna wondered if he was making the right sense out of her nonsense; if he was exhausting his brain with a deeper meaning that didn't exist in her words. "i think you mentioned something like that."

laughter rumbled behind her closed lips. "wanna know what color 'tsumu-kun boasts the most?"

"something like purple." he shrugged. he saw [name]'s brows jump in surprise. "royalty, right? plus, you like purples." he hissed the end of his sentence like a snake, a smile crawling onto his mouth.

"ah, so ya _do_ listen ta me when i talk." their chortles of amusement blended together. "close 'nough, but nah."

"then?"

"s'a mixture of red an' purple. blood of hard work and rarity of royalty. it's rich and deep and very vibrant. very 'tsumu-kun."

"well, _that's_ annoying…"

[name] giggled at his grumbles. "s'called flirt."

his shoulders bounced when he burst into laughter. "that's pretty accurate." [name] grinned at him with glimmering eyes, almost as if he were the eight wonder of the world and she had just found him.

"but much like mixtures between red an' purple, flirt's 'nother color that doesn't exist. they're on different ends of the spectrum and never touch. the variations we see are just a pigment of our imagination." her gaze found his and suna allowed it to sink into his field of view. "food for thought, huh, rintarou-kun? see ya tomorrow."

[name] left behind only a dispersing image of her dancing fingers and the melody of every syllable in his name. she turned left where they usually turned right to reach her home. as if she lacked essence or direction, she floated away with her blatant truths painted with vibrant hues.

rintarou chuckled to himself as he watched her back disappear down the street. "see you," he called out. [name] stopped to wave at him.

he waved his fingers like she did every time, turning on his heels to head home. he knew he was making the right sense out of her nonsense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> allow me the mic for a second. you can skip this if you want, but theres a reason i like this chapter as sloppy as it is (yeah i struggled a bit here and there)
> 
> there are many pros and cons to this mc. shes honestly one of my proudest works and i really really love her a lot.
> 
> some pros are: i can make her vomit words and youll take them because thats just mc being mc, i can experiment with pretty much anything, i can make her fit anywhere and with anyone. if i wanted to fuck you all over completely and switch the focus to osamu or atsumu, i easily could, because she clicks and responds to anyone. youve seen that throughout the chapters
> 
> then we have cons: shes hard to grasp even for me, her very creator (this is where i could say she exists because i allow it but ive already immortilized her and no amount of matches can burn her out of existence). shes so abstract and i like it that way, but i want her essence to be that she has no essence at all. thats who she is. and boy is that hard to communicate. im not sure if i made her justice, and im not sure if youll understand what im trying to say
> 
> anyway, this is a fanfic, only two characters belong to me in this story, and i shouldnt be putting this much thought into it
> 
> all my homies love tsumu so maybe you should too. have a good day


	19. coquelicot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's the color of death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw for animal death

**all things must** come to an end, for nothing lasts forever. whether earlier or later than expected, or exactly at the expected time—although that one is rare. [name] knew, and so it didn't hurt.

the volleyball team exited the school premises behind her as she busied herself with symbolism and dirt. atsumu's voice cried out while he argued with his brother, and ginjima sighed loud enough for the entire population of japan to hear him. a separate pair of footsteps halted before walking towards her. he didn't have to, though.

"see ya tomorrow, _sunarin_!"

"'tsumu, c'mon, [nickname]-chan's there, too."

"oh, see ya tomorrow, [nickname]-chan!"

ginjima slapped both of their backs simultaneously. "stop bein' annoying, let's go."

rintarou switched his unamused glare from the pair of twins fading in the distance—and ginjima apologizing with hand signals—to [name] laughing under the nyanza leaves turned red. he'd have to ask which shade of red for better accuracy.

the smile on her lips slapped him across the face. he raised a brow. "what? you've gotten over your allergies?"

"can i do that?"

"i wouldn't know." he shrugged. "why no mask today?"

[name] blinked up at him. "oh," she exclaimed as if he had triggered the memory in her brain. "nyanza-chan was killed." her thumb jutted towards the familiar bush where he had met nyanza.

of all answers, he had expected that one the least. he couldn't stop the shock from materializing in his expression, brows digging into his forehead and dull eyes wide with vividness. his tongue tied in search for words to say.

"i like that look," [name] chuckled, "lets me see yer eyes better."

suna grimaced. "it's not a good feeling."

[name] shook her head, rumbling giggles flooding over her lips. she stretched her arm towards him to invite him closer and he could see the dirt coating her skin. "c'mere." her fingers latched onto his sleeve as he crouched down beside her. he didn't mind, he could wash it later.

his gaze landed on the new blanket of red decorating the side of the school entrance. he guessed she had asked for permission, but knowing her, she probably hadn't. he caressed a petal with his knuckle. "what are these?"

"poppies." the way her plosives thundered against her lips contrasted wildly with the tender calling of his name he hadn't quite memorized yet. "the gardenin' club gave 'em ta me when i told 'em. they represent peace, eternal sleep, and death. an' i like the color."

"what color is it?"

"hinageshi—coquelicot in english, 'cause it sounds better." she pushed out one of those annoying, practiced giggles.

rintarou laughed with her for lack of a better reaction. hinageshi or coquelicot, it was still red—orange?—and nyanza was dead. "…what happened to her?"

"a car ran her over. i wanted to bury her, but i ain't allowed to do that. flowers'll do. a lil' homage before i let 'er go."

"so curiosity caught her?"

[name] snorted; a rock against asphalt before it kickstarted a flame of bubbling cackles. "ya can say that."

"i thought you'd cry over these things." he hadn't learned his lesson from the first time he assumed things about her. but her crinkling eyes and beaming grin while staring death in the face confused his brain and the image of her he had constructed.

she blinked owlishly at him, the time between each blink inconsistent as always. her expression shrank into a gentle simper while admiring the flowers she had just planted. "endings're abrupt an' unkind. if ya expect the end ta be soft and anticipated, then i've news for ya."

"that's the most rational thing that has _ever_ come out of your mouth."

"well, i like bein' abstract." a shrug of her shoulders and stretching lips. "why d'ya think i like colors so much? it ain't just fun names like the coquelicot of a poppy."

"you know colors are physical, right?"

"true, and that's probably the only part of physics i'll ever understand, but i consider the concept of colors to be abstract. which is true, 'cause concepts're always abstract."

there was beauty in her words even if he couldn't see them through her eyes. "i guess you're right. sorry for your loss, though." he tugged the arm she was still holding onto. her grip tightened.

" _our_ loss. she liked ya more than me." [name] laughed to herself. "but she died and that's all there's to it. say goodbye an' move on. we don't—"

"don't say it." suna raised his arm across her chest to push her off her feet. the warmth of her fingers disappeared as she fell onto her back.

"i thought it fit the lesson," she managed between giggles.

he stared down at her and the green of the grass embracing her. the smile on his lips gave him away. "pay your respects and get up. i'll walk you home." he prodded her side with his shoe, remembering she wasn't either of the twins and he shouldn't kick her.

[name] clapped her hands to the flowers while muttering prayers about the deceased cat. rintarou wondered how long it would take for her to find a new cat to dote on. she jumped to her feet before he could determine a number—it was probably a small one, anyway.

"come on." he motioned to the sidewalk with a nod of his head. her fingers found their way to his sleeve. he didn't mind, he could wash it later.


	20. puce

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's the color of her face.

**"yer a coward,"** atsumu sneered down at rintarou. flirt versus shades of grey; which popped out more?

rintarou rolled his eyes as a half-assed response, slumping over the lunch table.

atsumu clicked his tongue. he stormed out of the cafeteria, admittedly carrying more annoyance and frustration on his back than it concerned him. ginjima held his head in his hands while glaring at the food atsumu left behind. they knew he was coming back.

 **the door to** the classroom that he did not belong to was wide open and welcoming intruders like him. atsumu scanned the room and the faces he couldn't care to recognize with downturned lips. he switched his expression upside-down almost instantly upon finding [name].

"[nickname]-chan!" he called almost at the top of his voice, innocence and mischief mixing together in his lively tone.

[name]'s teeth clamped down on her tongue and her shoulders scrunched up. if anything, people hollering her name to interrupt her senseless babbling wasn't common. on top of her self-damage, one of her friends dug her elbow into her gut.

"my god, yer friends with that brat?"

an offended gasp resounded. "brat?! dude, he's so cool, d'ya have his number?" she hissed her whispers at [name] with sparkling eyes.

"um, i still haven't gotten osamu-kun's number."

[name] rolled her eyes, an amused huff slipping past her lips. "quiet. no, i don't 'ave their numbers."

"'kay, but _[nickname]-chan_?" shijiki grimaced at the excessively comfortable calling of her friend's name. she didn't appreciate it one bit. [name] laughed along a dismissive shrug of her shoulders.

the same elbow stabbed into her stomach again. "yer gettin' real chummy with 'em. don't be shy, girl, share a bit."

before [name] could spout a defense, atsumu's palms settled atop her shoulders. she jumped. "[nickname]-chan!" he cheered. his fingers pressed down on her uniform, his grin glimmered as if it were harmless.

"can i help ya, 'tsumu-kun?" [name] craned her neck to find his scheming gaze. she didn't miss shijiki's frown.

"yeah, how 'bout ya come with me?"

"uh," she drew out. her eyes flickered between her food and her friend. he only continued to smile down at her. "i'm eatin' lunch?"

atsumu patted her shoulders. "bring yer lunch, we're goin' to the cafeteria."

"but i'm good here."

"sunarin's callin' for ya."

[name] raised a brow. "oh, is he now?"

"now, now," he chuckled. his left palm slid to her upper back and slapped her playfully. "don't be like that." as [name] winced distracted, atsumu snatched her bento from her desk.

she blinked stunned, staring blankly while her lunch left the room without her. "what—? that's my foo—'tsumu-kun?"

atsumu waved the lunchbox in the air. he stopped at the door to flash his teeth at her. "come get it."

"but—he left." [name] breathed in deeply to maximize the heaviness of her sigh. she struggled to maneuver around shijiki's legs and leave her seat.

shijiki latched her fingers around [name]'s wrist before she could follow after atsumu. she glared up with quivering pupils. "i can share my lunch with ya." she cursed herself for the hesitation evident in her voice.

[name] spilled her _ahahaha!_ giggles, slipping away from shijiki's hold. she played with her friend's hair and grinned warmly. "i'll be fine. i'll just have lunch with 'em. don't miss me too much." she pressed a fleeting kiss to the crown of her head before skipping out of the classroom.

shijiki slumped in her seat and slammed her forehead against the desk. the girls surrounding her silently agreed to offer her bits and pieces of their own lunches for comfort.

"'tsumu-kun—ah!" [name] ran straight into atsumu waiting by the door. she stumbled back a few steps while he only chuckled. her bento was still safe in his hands.

"c'mon, i'll escort ya."

[name] laughed to herself as she rolled her eyes, but complied nonetheless. might as well humor him considering he kept her food hostage. "my, my, what a gentleman." he seemed to be in a hurry; she quickened her pace to catch up and match him.

atsumu glanced at her through the corner of his eye, his lips lifting into an impish smirk. "not as much as yer knight in maroon tracksuit, hm?"

her body halted involuntarily. atsumu turned to meet her squinted eyes and pursed lips. why would rintarou even mention that flickering piece of nonsense to his friends?

"i don't like where this is going."

"ya like suna, don't ya?" he motioned with his head to resume their walk.

[name] nodded—whether at his question or signal, she wasn't so sure anymore. "of course, yeah."

atsumu snorted. "not as friends"

"oh. well. i couldn't tell ya. i dunno."

"sure ya don't."

"he's very interestin', i'll give ya that." the gesture on his lips grew exponentially to cover half of his face. [name] raised her palms. "but— _but_ —i can't distinguish my interest in 'im between mere curiosity or a crush."

"so ya thought 'bout havin' a crush on him." his eyes seemed to glimmer brighter than her own could ever hope to try. excitement glistened in the coyote brown of his irises like swirling caramel.

"there's a possibility." she contemplated her next choice of words. the sounds arranged themselves at the tip of her tongue for her to savour them. "sometimes i catch myself lookin' at 'im in class."

"oh? _oh_?"

a weight lifted off her shoulders as soon as her sentence vanished into the air, only to be replaced by a crawling warmth consuming every inch of skin. atsumu neared her face to hers with a lively grin. "stop that." she pushed him away for safety.

"yer face's doin' all the talking," he laughed.

"huh?"

"yer all flushed and red. suna'd kill fer a pic of you right now." it didn't take him much time to think over his decision. he pulled out his phone and snapped a low quality picture of [name].

her laughter scraped a rock against the concrete. "that's illegal."

atsumu tossed his phone into her hands. "see for yerself." he held the door to the cafeteria open for her. as she scanned her own blooming features on the screen, atsumu guided her to his table.

"i wouldn't say—" she knocked her shin against rintarou's seat. his eyes glazed over her. "i wouldn't say red; s'more puce."

"what's puce?" asked rintarou, raising a questioning brow.

atsumu traded his phone for [name]'s lunch. he didn't allow any choices when he settled her bento on the space beside rintarou's. "[nickname]-chan's face," he snickered down at both of his victims across from him.

"puce's used ta describe flesh when there's a rush of blood. like flushed cheeks. an' also, it's the blood stain a flea leaves on linen after it's crushed."

"well, that escalated quickly." [name] snorted at the comment; rintarou smiled.

"i'll send ya a pic later." her glare traveled towards atsumu, who sat grinning proudly to himself. "i left my phone in the classroom."

"oh, i can take care of that."

nobody could question him as rintarou's phone vibrated from inside his pocket. [name] peeked over his shoulder to see the pattern of his password—which she instantly forgot. he opened up atsumu's chat for both to see he had the audacity to send her picture.

she blinked only once, slowly. rintarou could feel her pupils slicing his neck. she whipped towards ginjima beside atsumu in an instant. "i don't think we've met. [surname] [name], good to meetcha." when people usually extend their right hand, [name] opted for the left one.

"ah, oh, ginjima hitoshi, good ta meet ya."

"i like yer hair, ginjima-kun."

"oh, thanks."

rintarou chuckled and pinched her glowing ear with his fingers. she jolted and froze under his touch.

"your ears are burning."

her eyes stuck to ginjima as she giggled, "good thing i've yer cold, dead hands, rintarou-kun."

he laughed again, watching amused while she struck up a conversation with his teammate. maybe atsumu was becoming the better twin.


	21. jonquil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's the color of his eyes—but alive.

**[name] didn't seem** to make any distinctions among her peers. whether it was pecking shijiki's head before following osamu to their lunch table, or threading her fingers through rintarou's hair completely unprompted at any given moment, she did it all. her colors reached anyone anywhere, from her closest friends to the student council president she had met only minutes before.

it was fine—somewhat. rintarou had no rights to complain; [name] didn't own the hues she babbled about to share them only with him. he couldn't frown at the back of the classroom as she lay on shijiki's lap while browsing her phone.

she _never_ pulled out her phone around him. how much time did she need to reach that level of comfort?

rintarou lifted his head off his desk at the silent sound of [name]'s weightless footsteps approaching from behind. his favorite chuupet flavor landed before his eyes. he hadn't told her about it; she guessed—no, she read him.

her smile worked as an early alarm he didn't mind leaving beeping all day. "good mornin', 'samu-kun, rintarou-kun."

she somehow managed to throw him off every time she flung sentences to the air. a simple morning greeting, the usual, two of the few words she had transformed into a routine.

it meant nothing; osamu's name escaping her mouth before his could happen as much as it couldn't. he didn't recall the amount of times she had greeted him first. atsumu getting a color while he stayed stuck in black and white didn't matter as much as his brain was making it seem.

[name] didn't care about distinctions; everyone reflected the same way in her eyes. he couldn't hog her. he didn't want to, anyway.

osamu's chair screeched against the floor. "mornin'. i'll go get somethin' from the vendin' machine."

"oh, soz', that's my bad, 'samu-kun." [name] clasped her hands and bowed her head slightly. she grinned up at him. "i'll get ya somethin' next time."

osamu only shrugged. of course he took for granted such a great offer. he patted her shoulder with his palm before heading out the door. [name] waved at his retreating back as if he were embarking on a lengthy journey.

rintarou's eyes shifted from his candy to [name]'s sunny smile. if she had a sixth sense, she used it to feel his gaze on her. it had been months since she last stabbed him with her sharp pupils.

he glanced at the chuupets then back at her. "do you have a favorite color?"

[name] blinked. "we switchin' roles now?" she pursed her lips to hold back an amused grin.

"suddenly i regret asking."

she plopped down backwards on osamu's empty chair while bubbling with laughter. her arms folded atop the backrest and her shoulders hunched. rintarou had seen this scene before, yet this time he appreciated it.

"that's a tough question." her nails drummed on his desk. "i like all colors, i dunno if i can choose one. i do like my purples, but yellows're very lovely too, and oranges're _so_ unique. oh, greyscale s'a whole 'nother story."

"it must be a mess in there, knowing every color," he snickered, tapping the tip of his finger on her forehead.

[name] grinned widely as she softly swatted his hand away. "ya know every color too; ya just dunno their names. ain't like there's a… _specific_ name for each an' every color, anyway. countless shades we dismiss as dark-this or light-that. for example, yer eyes."

he would eventually need to learn how to jump around like she did if he wanted to keep up with her. she switched the conversation as if she could manipulate the script of life whichever way she wanted.

"what about them?"

"what color're they?"

rintarou hesitated before replying, "yellow?" she didn't show any signs of carrying on speaking, staring into him with curious eyes. he shot another try and added, "greenish?"

"figured you'd say that," she chuckled. "ya call 'em plain greenish-yellow. i call 'em a watered-down, less saturated shade of jonquil."

"is that a compliment or an insult?"

she straightened her back to rest her chin on her palm. the simper on her lips probably tasted sweeter than the candy she had bought for him—that smile was for him, too. "well, i think yer eyes're very pretty. they're a color i've never considered. if i ever see it, it'll remind me of ya. same if i see a jonquil; that's what friendship's all 'bout. 'm learnin' as i teach ya. that's good."

"you're welcome, i guess." he shrugged out of reflex, so as not to reply to her unfiltered thoughts and direct compliments.

"yeah, thanks. i might consider namin' it. i really like 'em a lot."

rintarou flickered his gaze away from her pupils digging into him. he never knew he could feel self-conscious about his eyes. [name] existed to teach him new experiences.

"what would you name it?"

she giggled to herself. "what does 'tsumu-kun call ya? we can push it into domestic bliss if we try, hm, _sunarin_?"

his brain couldn't even try to process what her words meant. he simply took them and saved them for later, when he could ponder over them or use them as decoration in the back of his mind.

"don't." he flicked her forehead.

[name] cackled, shoulders bouncing. "then, how 'bout a play on yer name? _rin_ as in morality, _ta_ as in thick, _rou_ as in man… how's _moral yellow_ sound?"

"you _could_ just not name it."

"robin egg blue didn't get its name with that attitude."

he puffed a chuckle. "in conclusion?"

"yer eyes're pretty?" how many times had she repeated that already? "ya've really cute lashes? take 'nother step over the edge and call it desire?"

"no, but thank you."

"then what?"

"what's your favorite color?"

"as of now, i'd say moral yellow appeals ta me the most." [name] pressed her finger gently against the tip of his nose. she made sure to not accidentally dig her nail into his skin.

he certainly did not expect that answer. he could only blink, his tongue tripping over itself. was this a distinction she was making?

she finally tore her eyes away from him and it ripped like a band-aid. he knew he had no rights to hog her, but why would her face light up even more upon seeing osamu return? "oh, 'samu-kun's back." she sprang up from the chair. "have a good day, you two, see ya."

rintarou nodded without following her as she left. "see you." he didn't need to see her fingers waving; it was engraved in his mind.

"see ya, [nickname]-chan."

osamu raised a brow at him. he munched on his snacks while settling back down on his seat. rintarou rolled his eyes and ripped the packet of his chuupet open.

"cat got yer tongue? yer face's lookin' pretty puce, too. what'd she say?"

"oh, shut up. i'm downgrading you to worse twin. definitely."

 **[name]'s last name** popped up at the top of his screen. she attached a picture of jonquil and _moral yellow,_ side by side for comparison. she even went as far as to write down the percentages and differences in hsv.

rintarou laughed to himself while writing down his reply. _it's just yellow_.

she didn't agree as she flooded his screen with warped, frowning stickers. he changed her contact name from _[surname]_ to _[name]._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is my favorite chapter among all thirty. it's 4am but once i started typing i couldnt stop. dont be like me, sleep at reasonable times. good night.


	22. persimmon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's the color of his voice.

**rintarou stared with** an amused smile plastered across his lips. they had already established that [name] wasn't one to get up with the sun—although the sun had started to accomodate to her schedule. she swayed in place, repositioning her feet every now and then to keep her balance.

her daily morning greeting disappeared into a yawn and melted in the drowsy simper she covered with her palm. she dug into her bag and handed him one of those containers he had grown to enjoy.

he admired the cut-up fruit, finding the deformed cubes where her knife had slipped when slicing only to shrug and move on. "good morning, [name]," he initiated their routine for her.

"mornin', rintarou-kun." her eyes strayed behind him for a second. rintarou picked up the distinctive noise of fraternal bickering and an exasperated braincell begging them to stop. "ah, 'samu-kun, 'tsumu-kun, gin-kun, good mornin'." she pulled out a second container filled with rattling raisins. osamu caught it without trouble.

atsumu audibly gasped. "an' i get nothing'?!"

"sorry, 'tsumu-kun," [name] chortled, "i dunno whatcha like."

"what's this?" rintarou piped up again before atsumu could go in detail about what he'd like to eat in the morning. [name]'s smile darted back to him.

"persimmon—oh, i messed up."

"what?"

the gesture on her lips only widened as she laughed at herself. "i meant to show ya the color but i peeled it. woah, 'm embarrassed."

he glanced between the fruit and [name]. "so persimmon is also a color?"

"named after the fruit." she shrugged her shoulders, using her hands to emphasize it. "maybe it's good. ya get the fruit first, _then_ the color."

his brow rose. "you won't show me unless we win?"

"should be a given."

"well, that's some motivation."

"hey, suna! get over here, c'mon!" and of course atsumu never had an ounce of tact in his entire existence.

rintarou threw a glare over his shoulder, finding both twins smacking each other's faces. she returned to [name]'s hazy eyes with a sigh. "you'll be cheering for us?"

"i've business with the student prez."

he hummed. "i'll walk you home."

"have fun, see ya." she presented her palm in the air. her nails, long and byzantium, made her fingers seem slender and refined.

he high-fived her to humor her. the smile he wore didn't budge. "see you." she had made those two words become a duo with a nod of his head. he didn't mind.

 **it hadn't taken** him too long to memorize the directions to her house. they strolled past the amaranth bush she had shown him the first time they began walking together. he'd have to ask for another alegría if given the chance.

[name] didn't allow him to disappear into his thoughts and recount the colors she had taught him so far. her hand wrapped around his index finger, tugging at it to gain his attention. she used her free hand to point at a tree behind a closed gate.

"that's a persimmon tree, an' those're persimmons."

rintarou could've sworn his heart sank to his feet. he stared at [name] incredulously. "did you _steal_ the persimmon you gave me?"

"the best-tastin' fruit's the stolen one." her teeth flashed into a mischievous grin that somehow resembled atsumu's. before he could demand she stopped spending time with the twins—for her sake—, [name] bumped her shoulder against his. "i'm kiddin', i asked the kind lady if i could take a few ta share with my friends."

he still didn't put it past her to steal fruit. "it's a nice color." she had mentioned oranges were unique and maybe she was right. soft and gentle, it reflected in his eyes like the kindest hue he'd ever seen.

"i know, reminds me of yer voice."

he blinked. "what?" tumbled out of his mouth, his sights snapping towards [name].

"yer voice," she repeated. her eyes clicked warmly into his. he didn't hate it, he didn't mind it. the color of her irises was intense as it glimmered beautifully. "s'really nice. ya ever tried singin'?"

"uh, no?"

"we should go karaoke sometime." her smile didn't compare to the brightness of her gaze. yes, persimmon was a lovely color, and yet it couldn't dare to compare to her eyes.

"do you sing?"

[name] snorted. "wouldn't ya like to know."

rintarou's brows furrowed in sheer confusion at her answer. he really should start taking her words as a given. he couldn't ponder much over them as she dragged him by the finger to resume their walk. she didn't think about letting go until they reached her home.


	23. eminence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's the color of recognition.

**"what's that?"** rintarou pointed subtly towards a girl a few desks away.

[name] lined her vision with his, finding the scrunchie he was looking at. she hummed in thought. "hm, burnt umber."

a chuckle fell and his shoulder bounced. he turned his eyes to another student at the same table. "what about that?"

"her phone thingy?"

"phone case, yeah."

"uh, mint cream?" her brows furrowed, her lips puckered as she bit the inside of her cheeks. "um, extremely light spring green, ta play it safe."

"why can't you just say blue-green like a normal person?"

she threw a playful slap at his shoulder. "hey, we had this conversation before. it's spring green, i don't make the rules."

"yet you enforce them." his elbow poked into her gut. he didn't need to remind himself she wasn't one of the twins anymore.

atsumu smirked, pleased at the sound of laughter and giggles. his brows danced amused as he set his lunch down on his self-assigned seat. his brother settled beside him.

rintarou nodded towards osamu. "what's osamu's hair color?"

"i'd say… spanish grey, maybe? greys're tricky, specially when they've a little hue, i needa see 'em up close." she used her fingers to reel osamu into her. it was funny how he simply leaned in without questions; [name] worked like bait for dumb fish sometimes.

"i think you mentioned something like that." had he said that before? probably. he always kept her babbling safe in the corner of his mind to stay on the same track as her.

she blew a raspberry while squinting at osamu's dyed hair. "can i touch it?"

"what?"

"yer undercut."

"sure?"

her fingertips pressed against the short hair behind osamu's ear. she snorted to herself at its particular feeling. before rintarou could jokingly ask—out of spite—how soft osamu's undercut was compared to his own hair, the one she actively played with almost every morning, [name]'s attention returned to him.

a content smile pulled at her lips. "s'a warm grey, somethin' along the lines of stone grey, maybe even cinereous."

"choose one."

"uh, cinereous."

"final answer?"

"final answer, sir."

ginjima joined just in time to hear their exchange and wonder what exactly went on in [name]'s head. he wasn't one to question his friends' choices, but seeing rintarou with someone like her, as nice as she was, simply didn't make much sense. he shared a glance with the twins, equally as clueless when it came to her words.

"then what's atsumu's?" rintarou motioned his chin towards atsumu.

"oh, a terrible choice, really. 'm glad i can't find a name for it 'cause that color ain't flatterin' on anyone."

" _hey_!"

everyone collectively cackled at atsumu's expense. the grin tugging at the corner of his lips betrayed him as he choked down his own laughter. ginjima kicked his previous thoughts into the trash; he could see why rintarou liked this girl.

"and gin's?"

"i'll stick with spanish grey for 'im; spanish grey with a yellow hue-shift."

"okay then, if i'm black and white, and atsumu is flirt, what are these two?"

[name] hummed. her teeth trapped the inside of her cheek. "well, 'samu-kun gives me eminence vibes. an' i'd say gin-kun's, uh," she drew out her pondering. the gears in her head creaked with rust. "maybe i should get ta know 'im better."

rintarou raised a brow at her as she burned holes into ginjima's hair. what was the criteria? she had dubbed the student council president as _a cyan typa guy_ not long after meeting him, yet poor ginjima only brought endless thinking and hesitation. whatever, he really didn't care much.

"but for now, i think wild blue yonder fits? s'patented by crayola, so works as a placeholder."

he allowed his thoughts to dissolve into a joyous smile. "you really don't like crayola."

[name] shrugged animatedly at him, mirroring the gesture on his face. just as quick, her eyes darted back to ginjima. "on that topic, could either gin-kun or 'tsumu-kun tutor me in math?"

"whaddaya mean topic?"

"[name]? we're literally in the same class."

she glanced between rintarou and osamu. "well, yeah, but… y'know." her features scrunched into a grimace.

"least _i_ know what the retina is"

"'twas a genuine question, 'samu-kun! i forgot!"

"let's go back to colors, you seem to be good at that."

"fancy way ta say i'm dumb." she struggled to etch a frown onto her brows.

rintarou mocked her with a flash of his teeth. "thanks, i'm here all week." [name] huffed. he chuckled to himself. "enlighten us, what's eminence?"

her pitiful attempt at an offended scowl vanished into thin nothingness; it wasn't meant to stay with her for long. her eyes flickered to osamu as if he hadn't just reminded her of the stupid questions she asked in class.

"s'a shade of purple. less magenta than flirt, so i think it fits more." her palms waved in the air towards both twins. "eminence means recognition in a particular sphere. at first glance, i woulda given it to 'tsumu-kun, but then i realized he was bolder than that, hence, flirt." her phone slid out from the sleeve of her shirt and she tapped away at her screen. her nails clicked against the glass with every letter she typed.

as a background whisper, atsumu asked, "what's flirt? why am i flirt?"

rintarou lifted his head from [name]'s phone to the—debatably—best twin. he locked eyes with atsumu. his own _less saturated, watered-down shade of jonquil_ , moral yellow eyes dug into whatever color atsumu's were.

"here, this is eminence." [name] swiped one last time at her screen before raising it for osamu to see.

"i like it. thanks for the compliment."

"oh, yer welcome."

she felt rintarou's elbow stab her side as he piped up, "what's yours?"

"my what?"

"your color."

[name] blinked. her expression shrank into blankness. her pupils seem to dilate like those of a cat. rintarou cringed at the knife she drove into his chest with eyes that glared off at something only she could see. silence seeped into the atmosphere and overflowed under their skin.

when she blinked again, a weightless smile crawled onto her lips. her shoulders rose and lowered in a loose shrug. "i dunno." she averted her gaze down to her locked phone and sucked air in through closed teeth. "yikes, i gotta go meet with the student prez. see ya, guys."

rintarou could only catch a blurry image of her waving fingers. he nodded out of reflex, muttering, "see you?" he turned to his friends to see the same confusion plastered across their faces.

"that was… interestin'."

osamu nodded to ginjima's words. "didn't expect that answer."

"no, but why am i flirt?" atsumu held his head in his hands. everyone considered decking him.


	24. harlequin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's the color of his eyeshadow (it's the color of his jealousy).

**among the buzz** of students crowding the halls, [name]'s feet dashed across the tiles to reach each destination in time. the walkie-talkie in her hand beeped and crackled to catch her attention. she brought it to her mouth, pressing the button to spit out a strangled reply as she struggled to catch her breath.

"we needa check on some first years," the president's voice blended with white noise.

[name] skidded to a stop, palm slamming against a wall. she had only just stepped foot on the third-years' floor. "roger," she grumbled into the mic before whipping around to dart down the stairs.

barbaric first-year students await for her to put their antics to a stop. the sole of her shoe pressed against the tiles for a millisecond and switched to the other just as quick. she passed by atsumu at a food stand as he intimidated an underclassman. his brother didn't bother stopping him as he stuffed his face with takoyaki.

"'tsumu-kun, please, refrain from scarin' the kids! 'samu-kun, keep 'im in check, thanks!"

atsumu flinched, shoulders jolting. he could only catch a glimpse of [name] as she disappeared down the hall. osamu choked on his food as a karmic punishment for laughing.

as if on cue, ginjima and joined in time to shove a water bottle in his hand and save his poor soul. "was that [surname]-san?" he patted osamu's back for good measure, directing his question at atsumu—who could actually talk without dying.

"yeah, i forgot she's also patrollin'."

"seemed ta be in a hurry, though," osamu commented, voice hoarse and a couple hacks still blocking his throat. he pounded his fist onto his chest to loosen them up.

ginjima raised his own drink in [name]'s direction like a glass of champagne. "kudos to her."

the twins mimicked him, although atsumu raised his toothpick. "kudos to her," they muttered in unison. ginjima regretted ever meeting them as they tried jinxing each other over and over.

rintarou showed up empty-handed soon after while judging the feral monkeys battling one another with only one hand. upon spotting him, atsumu slapped osamu's arm away to ask for his drink in peace. rintarou shrugged. "[name] stole it on my way here." his tone dripped with mocking amusement.

"goddammit, [nickname]-chan."

 **it was her** class' turn to bask in the spotlight and take in the applause of teachers and students alike. the gym brimmed with people finding comfortable seats to enjoy the show. whispered murmurs and joyous anticipation flooded the atmosphere.

[name]'s walkie-talkie beeped in her pocket. she groaned to the empty hallway before answering the call.

"there's some stage fright happenin' backstage of class 2-1's show. anyone close?"

she squealed thanks to any deities watching over. nobody had the chance to reply as she practically hollered into the device, "i'll take care of it!"

"thanks, [surname]. countin' on ya."

finally, an excuse to enter the gym and appreciate the hard work her classmates had put into their pantomime show—a show she couldn't be a part of after deciding to offer a hand to the student council. she spun on her heels and bolted down the stairs, eyes darting around to make sure no loitering students were causing trouble. her feet leaped into the air in an excited celebration.

still taking quick and large steps, [name] weaved her way around the chattering audience, tripping every now and then on polished shoes. she exhaled out a sigh of lead when she managed to reach the backstage of the gym.

a sealed water bottle flying towards her chest stopped her dead in her tracks. breathing heavily, shoulders rising and falling at a steady pace, she gave herself a moment to slow down. rintarou stared patiently as she recomposed herself.

she tore the cap open and chugged down a good quarter, water rushing down her throat like a heavenly elixir. "thanks… i was really needin' this…" her words slurred mixed with huffs and puffs. knees slightly bent, she supported her weight with her free palm on her thigh. "thanks fer the one earlier, too…"

"thank atsumu for that one."

[name] chuckled, still out of breath. "shoot… my bad, 'tsumu-kun…" the cooling plastic pressed briefly against her forehead as she saluted the image of atsumu's frown in her brain.

rintarou freed her hand from the bottle. she thanked him under one last sigh. "i don't think i've ever seen you move this much." he poked fun at her as if she hadn't forced him to dance—somewhat—during the sports festival.

"i'm tryna figure out if i should feel insulted."

their quiet laughter blended into one another's. he smiled to himself when she stood up straight, breathing normally. "what are you running around so much for?"

"heard one of the guys was gettin' stage fright." she pulled the walkie-talkie out of her pocket and shook it in her hand for emphasis. "came to check on 'em."

"oh, that dude over there?" his thumb jutted behind him to point at the boy in question, back pressed flat against a wall. people crowded around him on the floor, using notebooks and sheets of paper to fan air into his face. "yeah, he looks like he's about to pass out." a snicker fell from his lips before he could catch it.

[name]'s fingers slapped playfully at his bicep. "gosh, rintarou-kun! go take care of somethin', get yer makeup done, i'm on a time crunch here. thanks for the water again."

"anything you need." he stepped out of her way with a grin digging into his cheeks. [name] patted his back and darted across the stage to her classmate.

rintarou watched her while taking a sip of the bottle in his hand. she shooed the concerned students away, a frown etched on her forehead as she scolded them for suffocating the boy. her knees hit the floor without hesitation. upon closer examination, it was that guy _nabu-kun_ she was friends with.

relief seemed to wash over his ghost-white—or whichever shade of white it was—face when [name] grasped his shoulder. she spoke to him with care and kindness, pronouncing her words carefully so his frightened mind could take them all in. rintarou didn't need to hear her to know her lips circled around a free _have fun_.

he chugged down the last bits of water [name] had left.

 **"i'm on my** break, _please_ ask somebody else," [name] whined into the microphone of her walkie-talkie. her friends at the lunch table could see her soul slipping out of her body.

the device crackled and a muffled voice came through, "we really need someone to patrol, [surname]-chan."

"ask the vice-prez, her class should be done by now."

"roger."

[name] glared at the walkie-talkie for a few seconds until she had made sure it wouldn't beep again. her lungs filled with air to every last corner, only for her to exhale it all in an eight-second sigh of exhaustion. she planted her forehead on atsumu's shoulder beside her.

ginjima prodded her lunch with his chopsticks. "[surname]-san, ya should eat somethin'."

"yeah, just gimme a minute," she wheezed out. her brain was doing the whole catching its breath inside her overheating skull. "things weren't this tiring last year. i didn't even get ta participate in the show this time!"

her sharp eyes whizzed like arrows towards her two classmates across from her. merciless and endless like a swallowing abyss, she zeroed in on the traces of vibrant make-up decorating their skins. osamu nonchalantly munched on his food without a care, but rintarou knew the feeling of her gaze all too well.

he raised a brow at her as she muttered curses into atsumu's sleeve. "you're staring, [name]."

"i'm thinkin'."

"dangerous hobby."

"i know."

"please, proceed."

"harlequin."

rintarou blinked. "sorry, i didn't quite catch that, friend."

[name] pushed herself off atsumu. her neck popped when she rolled it to relieve it of any kinks. "in traditional pantomime, not whatcha did today, there's a mute character called harlequin."

"like… the villainess from batman?" ginjima mumbled—more to himself than to anyone else.

"yeah, like that. harley quinn's named after a harlequin. i think, i never fact-checked." her shoulders shrugged as she giggled to herself.

"moments like these make me wonder how your thought process works. if there _is_ one."

"i'll take yer interest as a compliment." she flung a sweet smile at rintarou. her index finger hovered above his eyes. "thing is, ya still have some green eyeshadow on yer face."

"fucking dammit," he whispered out a curse, rubbing his knuckle blindly against his skin to get rid of the pigment.

[name] chuckled while rummaging through her bag. "i've make-up wipes." she used her fingers to reel him closer and he leaned over the table obediently. she worked gently on the corner of his eyes, holding his head in place with a soft grip on his cheek.

a muttered thanks tripped out of his tongue once she had finished. she let go of his face to throw him a thumbs-up. her eyes moved on to osamu as she offered to wipe his leftover make-up as well. he only shrugged and she repeated the same process.

rintarou couldn't help the way his nose scrunched up on its own, brows knitting together into a scowl. he pulled out his phone while [name] treated osamu with the same amount of care, never making any distinctions among her peers. his thumbs tapped away at his keyboard to search for the color she had gifted everyone at the table.

a shade of green, the color of his eyeshadow, the color of his jealousy. no, not that he was jealous, but green usually symbolizes jealousy and harlequin looked like a jealous color.

she hadn't quite finished wiping osamu's face when he turned his screen towards her. "is this the color?" he asked in a flat tone.

"oh, yeah, that one." her hands forgot all about osamu's make-up as she beamed at the image.

atsumu pushed [name] out of the way to peer at the color. his face contorted. "s'ugly as shit."

"s'a green screen." the twins' comments overlapped.

"didn't expect it to be green," ginjima added.

rintarou locked his phone and shoved it in his pocket. he pierced his eyes dead into [name]'s. "it's hideous."

an offended gasp escaped her. "it's not that bad, ya guys're just mean!" joyous cackles mixed together to relieve the pain on her legs from so much running. she kicked rintarou's shin under the table in a fit of giggles. he didn't hesitate to kick her back.


	25. smitten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's the color of infatuation.

**a palm against** a volleyball, unnecessarily intense. the force of the impact sent the ball flying onto the other end of the court, the slamming on the floor echoed across the gym. [name] peeled her eyes away from rintarou for a second to see atsumu going for yet another serve, whistling in awe as the loudness from the previous one died into a ringing in her ears.

"betcha i could receive that."

rinatoru snorted. "i doubt that."

"hey!" she poked his side with her elbow. "i've been puttin' my _all_ in gym class to learn how ta receive." bruises on her forearms were enough proof.

the same deafening sound of skin against leather cut off any retorts he could have come up with. atsumu's cry of _ball!_ reached only a few seconds later. [name]'s life flashed right before her eyes and in her mind she briefly regretted ever agreeing to watch volleyball practice. rintarou popped into view—thank the trained reflexes—, shoulder slamming into her in a frantic attempt to shove her out of harm's way.

his fingers were wrapped tightly around the ball as he held it in place, centimeters away from knocking an entire row of teeth out of [name]'s mouth. she could only blink with wide eyes at the unexpectedly threatening shades of vibrant blue and yellow. a nervous giggle stumbled out of her lips.

down on the court, atsumu snapped out of his own shock, shoulders relaxing and jaw loosening. he clicked his tongue to himself before muttering out, "soz'," only barely loud enough for his victim to hear him all the way from the bleachers.

"apologize properly, dickwad." osamu approached with his uninterested expression to slap his brother upside on the nape.

between carefree cackles now that the initial danger had vanished, [name] waved her hand dismissively. she stole the ball from rintarou's hands and bumped it softly towards the twins. "no worries, i'm good!" she turned back to rintarou while blowing out a sigh. "i should shut up. he really smote that, didn't he?"

"i've never heard anyone use the word smite in my seventeen years of life."

she threw a glimmering grin at him, voice lilting as she sang, "glad ta be the first. i make my words just for yer ears." as rintarou processed her babbling with a frown, [name] invited herself onto his lap. her fingers snaked past his cheeks and into his hair. "tell me, d'ya believe in love at first sight?"

"what the fuck…?" he stared down at her with confusion shining over his eyes. she almost got a concussion from a ball, but decided to completely ignore that and instead dove into the first topic that appeared in her mind.

her body vibrated with laughter over his legs. "smitten has two similar meanings: past participle of smite, meanin' to hit somethin', and to be strongly attracted to someone, ergo smitten in love with someone." _ergo_?

"how is that similar?"

"ta be struck with love."

he nodded—more to give her the reason rather than because he agreed. he had learned to take her words as a given. "what about you?"

"i think _maybe_ people can fall in love at first sight. maybe without even knowin' their name. wouldntcha agree?" rintarou merely shrugged. he didn't really agree, but who was he to argue with her brain? "but then again," she continued. "i already know yer name, so i can't really prove it."

he blinked down at her. his eyes found hers, full of questions and sheer confusion. she really did make her words just for his ears.

"s'a color," [name] chuckled.

"smite?"

"smitten. s'a vivid purplish red, magenta typa deal. at the end of the day, it ain't real. perhaps infatuation's a better word."

as much as he wanted to take her statements with a simple shrug of his shoulders, accepting them for what they were, she made it a difficult task. he involuntarily exhausted his remaining braincells trying to find a meaning hidden underneath nonexistent colors, mixtures between red and purple.

the smile on her lips shrank into silk. "for the color, not fer me."

his hand hovered beside her head in hesitation. he _was_ probably reading her all wrong. he didn't know how to read her at all. "and what color should smitten be?" her hair was tangled yet soft between his fingers.

"a passionate red or a deep blue." her forehead rested against his stomach, lids fluttering closed. "somethin' very unique, but true. i think people fall in love when they find someone unique." he wondered for a second if black and white was too plain boring to be unique enough.


	26. granny smith apple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's the color of the apple they shared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¡warning! manga spoilers

**it wasn't as** early as every other time throughout the year, and neither were they freezing outside the bus as the team prepared to set off to a tournament. it was a breezy morning in tokyo, on the second day of nationals at the beginning of january.

at last, after missing her chance to support her school's team for the past months, [name] made it all the way to the city with the orchestra-like cheering squad. when the opportunity presented itself and she found an opening, she ditched her classmates to dart towards her volleyball friends. atsumu announced her presence to everyone around them as he spotted her approaching first.

she offered him an enthusiastic wave and flung a container of raisins towards osamu. rintarou nodded at her in acknowledgement, hands stuffed into his tracksuit's pockets and back curved unnaturally. [name] presented him with a shiny green apple and an equally shining smile.

rintarou rolled his eyes, a soft simper crawling onto his lips. "granny smith apple?" he asked, accepting the fruit with a faint _thanks_.

"naw, this one's a natural breed. figured a bit less sugar'd be better before a match."

"much appreciated." he nodded again, raising the apple as if he were toasting in gratitude.

"have fun. i'll be cheerin'."

"see you."

she waved her fingers over her shoulder. "see ya."

 **the universe loved** irony as much as [name] loved spouting her thoughts unfiltered. rintarou bowed to the cheering squad with the rest of his teammates after an exhausting match against karasuno.

how was it that the first time [name] ever watched them play seriously, their nationals ended on their first match?

he found her dilated pupils all the way up at the bleachers. the apple he had eaten before playing popped into his mind. things hadn't sailed smoothly like during catawba and persimmon—or razzmatazz, but that was no fruit—; this time he had no challenge to serve as motivation.

[name] had a knack for wildly twisting the script whichever way she preferred. teaching him about both the fruit _and_ the color before he stepped foot on the court.

 **rintarou jolted in** his seat at the unannounced weight of another body leaning on him. chin on his head, arms over his shoulders, hands hooking and resting over his chest. he caught a whiff of that distinctive scent of vanilla and that faint helping of almond underneath it.

her _good mornin'_ disappeared into her throat and instead switched for an excited gasp. "oh, that's so cute! granny smith apple! i love those!"

"uh," he drew out, trying to process what she had just spouted. "apple _what_ now?"

with the same amount of enthusiasm, [name] repeated, "granny smith apple! s'a breed of apples an' their color. wouldn't say my favorite, but i like 'em. can i have a slice?" she was lucky he had a knife at hand. either way, he wouldn't have minded allowing a bite.

"sure, but sorry, apples have breeds?" he tried glancing through the corner of his eye, but she was too comfortable on his head to disturb her.

"of course!" he could feel her eyes burning onto his hands as he sliced a piece of the apple. did she even have breakfast? "this one's artificial though. what, didja think every green apple ya ate was the same?"

"well, yeah."

this time her gasp was over-exaggerated in mock-offense. "that's like sayin' every dog ya pet's the same!"

"no, but i can tell a shih tzu from a dobermann. dogs are distinctively different."

"so are apples!" rintarou raised the slice above his head—mostly to silence her before she dove into a rant about differentiating apple breeds. her hands didn't bother to move from his chest as she grabbed the fruit with her teeth. "this one's much sweeter than a natural green apple," she mumbled after chewing.

"maybe that's why i like them better."

"chill out on the sugar a bit, friend."

it was hard to tell if the laughter was hers or his when they blended in harmony. [name] pulled away from him to harshly pat his shoulders. they exchanged their _see ya_ and _see you_ before she waved and walked back to her seat.

 **he wondered if** maybe more sugar would have changed the tide.


	27. phlox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's the color of compatibility.

**colors and scents,** variation in hues and an array of different perfumes flowing through the classroom. [name] threw a toothy grin towards both rintarou and osamu as she skipped past their desks, her arms occupied by a paper bag filled with single and unique blooms. she offered a swift _good mornin', guys_ and pulled a yellow flower for the student behind him.

sharing a class with [name] remained being somewhat of a curse in disguise. of course, what a sweet soul, buying individual and specific flowers for every friend and classmate. but where were the distinctions?

one of her closest friends—second only to the overbearing shijiki—buried her nose in the vibrant petals of a purple iris. shijiki herself teared up at the delicate, soft pink and yellow of her alstroemeria. all the way from his seat, rintarou frowned mildly concerned as she bruised her knuckles against her desk, muttering _she's so cute_ through gritted teeth. her dear _nabu-kun_ beamed brightly at the yellow rose between his fingers.

"stock flower for 'samu-kun," she lilted while approaching them again, gently producing a purple flower from her bag. osamu accepted it with a nod. "an' last but never least, rintarou-kun."

he stared at the bright pink—magenta? purple…?—petals held by the stem in his hand. "so?" his neck craned to find her smile.

"so what?"

"just a flower?"

her jaw unhinged, brows furrowing. "that's a rude way ta say _thank you_."

"lovely flower, thank you, i'll keep it next to zomp."

her frown vanished as soon as it appeared. the sparkle in her eye could be either second nature or the mention of that plug plant she had most likely forgotten about. "this one's phlox. both the color and the flower, if that's what yer askin'." her forearm landed on his shoulder, fingers snaking into his hair out of habit.

"i didn't get anything for you."

"ah, that's cool. i don't expect anythin' in return."

"from me or in general?"

"i wonder," [name] hummed. almost a year had gone by since they first interacted and rintarou still struggled to understand her when she spoke.

shijiki's mutters grew instantly into shrieking bawls; from faint mumbles among the silence to echoing and incoherent cries. the soothing palms of her friends on her back did nothing to comfort her and quiet her down.

[name] fought back a smile, blowing air out of her nose to avoid laughing out loud. "i better get ta her. have—"

"[name]-chan!" shijiki sobbed, "why are'ya so nice to us?! what'd we do to deserve ya?!"

"have a good day, see ya."

"see you."

rintarou followed her with his eyes as she returned to her seat, leaving behind the vivid image of her waving fingers. shijiki screwed her lids tightly shut and looped her arms around [name], pressing her face into her stomach. her tears seeped through [name]'s uniform and her hiccups muffled with her shirt. she held her alstroemeria trapped between her shaky fingers with utmost care.

"'tmeans friendship! ya gave me a flower that means friendship! and prosperity! i love ya so much!" her wheezes were barely comprehensible, but for the first time in their second year, shijiki was useful to rintarou.

he blinked at the scene transpiring a few desks away. the information processed in his brain slowly but surely. he whipped back to face front, finding osamu locking his phone and pocketing it.

he shrugged at rintarou. "mine means a happy life?"

rintarou flipped out his own phone and hurried to open his browser. "phlox… flower… meaning…" he dictated under his breath, keeping the words fresh in his head so he wouldn't mess them up. the first result to pop up pulled at the corner of his lips.

"what's it mean?"

he read, "represents harmony, partnership, unity, and compatibility. also considered as the symbol of agreement."

"she's whipped." a snort fell out of osamu's mouth. "bet 'tsumu's gonna hit ya, so get movin'."

"oh, shut up."


	28. alabaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's the color of deaf ears.

**when his phone** buzzed late in the evening and [name]'s name popped on screen, rintarou had expected a new color to learn about. the usual: an image pulled out of google labeled with a creative name, followed by an explanation and a relation to their daily lives. this time, however, [name] threw the papers of their script to the air to jumble the common narrative he had grown used to.

one message. no image. no color. _wanna go out for a bit?_ it didn't take him too much thinking to agree.

he found himself strolling to the nearby park under a setting sun, a crimson hoodie hugging his torso to combat a chilly night of spring. [name]'s white shirt reflected the light from the lampposts as if she had become a beacon to make sure he would see her even when she stood alone. her black skirt flowed in the wind while she balanced on the edge of a bench.

she hopped off upon meeting his eyes, landing with bent knees despite the difference in height being practically negligible. rintarou wondered if he simply couldn't handle the cold well, or if she wasn't human after all and his indigo jeans were a rational choice.

he could barely catch the ghost of a smile flickering on her flat lips. his brow rose in mild concern. "is everything okay?"

she gazed into his dull irises with sharp, round pupils. his skin sliced open like a knife running through butter. [name] turned on her heels without a word, hand beckoning his name for him to stand beside her. she didn't wait for him as she began sauntering away with steps that finally held some weight behind them.

"d'ya mind if we just walk fer a bit?" she spoke up when he appeared by her side. "i needa think."

rintarou only nodded. was it a good moment to bring back that joke about thinking? seeing her move like a regular human being rather than with the imperceptible skip that made her seem to be floating and dancing told him it wasn't. but thinking still was a dangerous hobby.

 **her hands never** stopped moving. they either grazed past flower petals, or fiddled with the hem of her clothes, or played with a strand of her hair. the silence was deadly but so was the fact that she didn't bother reaching out for him. she had once grabbed onto his sleeve and his wrist and his fingers, drumming her nails on his skin and humming a random tune.

but [name] didn't care about consistency.

rintarou looked up past the foliage of a tree and towards the gunmetal sky. [name] had said it was gunmetal and he had taken her word for it—or her silence, more accurately.

rhythm was her lyrical nonsense, amaranth were the seeds in her alegría, nyanza were the leaves during summer, coquelicot were the flowers used as a homeage. that night, gunmetal was just a color.

her eyes stabbed into his cheek, scalding his skin against the biting wind picking up speed. she darted her sights away from him just as quick and glanced to her side. a sigh slipped past her teeth while she craned her neck up.

"rintarou-kun."

he grimaced at the unexpected sound of her voice. he could only produce a hum to tell her he was listening.

"i guess i'm done. there's color in yer world now, right?"

was there color in his world? from the wilting jonquils in his irises to the raisins he didn't like. a made-up moral yellow and the catawba of noble fruits. the recognition of eminence for osamu and the nonexistent flirt for atsumu. "i think?" no, he _knew_ there was.

she lowered her head, sharpening pupils aligning with his. her lips quirked into a realized simper. "mission success."

"so you're done?"

"i've nothing else to teach ya." a carefree shrug bounced off her shoulders. she blew a raspberry. "told ya i'd be outta yer hair as soon as you learned a thing or two from me."

rintarou couldn't recall those words even if he tried. they fell foreign on his ears, mostly because he hadn't wanted to save them when his surroundings dripped in grey. [name] laughed to herself at his lack of response. she could almost hear the cogs in his brain processing her statement. as amusing as it usually was to see his brows furrow in confusion, she nibbled the inside of her cheek, overflowing with frustration.

it was hard to believe curiosity morphed into attraction. 

she quickened her pace to jump onto the nearest bench. "ya wanna get married?" maybe, just _maybe_ , if she slinged shot after shot, one was surely meant to hit him square in the face.

"i'm seventeen? i haven't thought about marriage. probably someday, i don't know." his voice behind her triggered her fight or flight response.

[name] shook her head, lungs filling with more air than she could handle. the smile she wore thinned into pursed lips. "no, i mean, right now. wouldja marry me?"

"what?"

there it was. sheer confusion and incapability to comprehend the words that she threw at him for spontaneous fun. "can't think of a better opportunity. i'm in alabaster an' yer full of color. seems like the perfect moment ta me."

"what's alabaster?"

"an off-white color. a light shade of grey, if ya will."

"is it even legal to get married at this age?"

"probably," she snickered to herself. her pupils and his face repelled like similar poles. "will ya marry me, rintarou?"

"sure."

her feet tripped off the bench to land twisted on the ground. " _huh_?" was all she could articulate with her breath stuck in her throat.

"i said sure. let's get married."

[name] usually played the role of the confusing, spontaneous babbler. standing face to face with him after he did not pick up a single hint—was he rejecting her nicely or simply dense?

she blinked out of her stupor to meet his bored eyes. a whispered _what…?_ tumbled out of her mouth. "um, okay." her fingers hurried to snatch a stone off the ground. spontaneity was her strong suit. "suna rintarou, d'ya take me as yer wife on this weirdly chilly april night?"

"i guess." a shrug that screamed he was only following her. [name] tossed the stone in her hand towards him; he caught it with ease and sharp reflexes—unlike every word she had been trying to reach him. "[surname] [name], do you take me as your husband?" he bent down to mimic her and pick a stone.

"just that?"

he sighed, "here, in this park?"

laughter spilled out, trapped in amusement and disappointment. "i do," she pronounced her syllables with fondness and care, adding a touch of honey that stuck to the roof of her mouth. the stone he chose at random fit snugly in her palm. "fantastic wedding; a perfect reminder."

"of what?"

"it ain't often i see a jonquil." or in other words, _i'd like to remember my dense high-school crush_. her thumb caressed over the smoothness of her vowing stone. "'twas nice meetin' ya, _husband_." if she pushed it, her feelings wouldn't fly by his head like everything else.

rintarou snickered—either at the ridiculous pet name or the absurdity of the situation she created out of panic. "the guys won't be happy when they find out they weren't invited."

her _ahahaha!_ giggles flooded over her lips and faded into an awkward sigh brimming with emotional pain. "remember to invite 'em to yer actual wedding. and if there's an open spot, me too. though i seen ya wear black and white enough."

"i'll make sure you're there." he flashed a lopsided smile that wasn't fair at all.

"let's seal it," [name] exhaled, pushing the words out of her tongue to free-fall onto his ears. her palm raised in the air in defeat. if she'd had a wall nearby, she would've banged her head against it to get the message across.

their hands came in contact for a brief moment as rintarou joked, "until death do us part." the stinging on her skin didn't compare to the pain pulsating on her temple. this guy was stabbing a headache into her brain with mere sentences.

"i'll watch yer matches for sure this year. i'll cheer in all of 'em."

"maybe don't help out the student council so much."

a chuckle. "the prez asked me ta help with the elections."

"and you will?"

"i've nothin' better to do, honestly."

"i have a question, though." dull yellow burned on her skin like the sun beating down on a scorching summer day.

"yeah, tell me."

"why end it on a grey?"

her fingers tightened around her stone. she chewed on her bottom lip to consider replying. "this was never 'bout you, rintarou. i was tryna teach some things to myself."

"expand." bored brows, tilted head. such a pretty face demanded an explanation.

"bein' black and white ain't bad, as i'd originally thought. i was wrong. so i'm cool with it now. and it seemed like a good idea to take ya back to where you belong. don't let me fool ya."

"so you're black and white, too?"

he flinched under her sharp gaze, almost as if alabaster had lost its saturation to gainsboro. "i just know we're two of a kind."

"you talk so much, but you never say anything."

"i say more than ya think. if you can't grasp it, that's yer loss." a slanted smile digged into her cheek. rintarou replied with a heavy sigh. she giggled behind closed lips. "where's the fun in bein' direct?"

"you'd make it a lot easier for me."

"i can be straightforward when i want to."

"can you do it right now?"

a hum was all she could muster, her head shaking gently. "don't think so. i just hope ya understand that yer very unique to me. whether it's blue or red, i'm just glad you let me spend the year with ya."

silence stilled the night. his eyes trailed over every inch of her smile. "that's it?" he asked with a raised brow.

[name] swallowed down the sigh threatening to slap him across the face. if her words couldn't find their way to his ears, then there was no point in creating them. he heard but he never listened. "pretty much," she mumbled as she smacked her lips. "'m gonna head home, s'gettin' late."

"i'll walk you."

perhaps the immense density of his brain didn't allow the shots to get through; perhaps he dodged them swiftly to kindly let her down. reading shades of grey had only become more complicated as the days went by in vivid hues.

"i'll be fine."

"see you."

"night, rintarou." she nodded her head as farewell to the night and her eventful second year of high-school. blooming cherry blossoms signaled new beginnings past the spring.


	29. 0%

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> H 0% S 0% V 0%

**a lot can** change in a year—a lot more than rintarou would've liked. from the falling cherry blossoms to the number on his jersey. atsumu became captain, first-years joined the team to fill in empty spots, and a shuffling of chances landed him in a classroom with new and old faces.

a lot can change in ten days after a nodding goodbye. either [name] had been too bubbly or the classmates of his third-year listened to hour-long recordings of white noise for fun. he could still hear her a few rooms down the hall, sliding the door open to holler her signature _good mornin', everyone!_

the saturation and brightness of his world faded back to grey as the first weeks of school ran him over like a truck. colors he had known as chartreuse and harlequin, razzmatazz and byzantium, crumbled into regular shades of green and magenta.

mornings without free chuupets—which he appreciated the gesture behind it more than the candy—while her fingers ran through his hair, and lunches without her shoes drilling into his shins when he insulted hideously blinding hues she brought to the table. volleyball practices where atsumu asked _[name]-chan ain't comin'?_ but he didn't know how to reply.

she left behind a useless guitar pick, a growing plug plant, a wilting flower, and a random stone. rhythm, zomp, phlox, and a stone. [name] for sure kept her word.

she pranced around like an enthusiastic deer in an open field, hopping from subject to subject and person to person. she barged in and carved herself a place where she didn't belong, only to bow as a farewell before exiting the stage.

she was so annoying, but his thumb kept stroking the stone she picked for him at the park.

 **another day of** lunch with only three of his friends and atsumu's eyes burning a hole into him was slowly pissing him off. the force he used to grip his chopsticks as he glared daggers at him made him vibrate in his spot. his brother spared him a bored glance before slapping him across his bleached hair.

"'samu!" osamu raised a brow, chewing on his food, unbothered. atsumu groaned and screamed internally. "'kay, what's happenin', suna?" his chopsticks, fingers constricted tightly around the wood, pointed at rintarou in accusation.

he only stared back. "what?"

"dude, didja fight with her?"

"no."

"then why's she ghostin' ya?"

rintarou shrugged as he muttered, "i don't know. she said she had nothing else to teach me so she was done."

"what's with the rock?" osamu asked through a mouthful of rice. his gaze flickered back and forth between rintarou's face and the stone his fingers fiddled with.

he held it gingerly with his thumb and index finger. "we got married?" the memory in his brain replayed just as unrealistic as the words sounded tumbling out of his tongue.

"what the fuck?"

his eyes found atsumu's clueless scowl while he shrugged again. "she asked me to marry her."

the frown vanished from his forehead to morph into pure puzzlement. he turned towards osamu and ginjima, who wore the same confusion on their features. shared glances traveled across the three of them while painful agitation stabbed into their brains.

atsumu bit his second knuckle to keep himself from decking his friend across the table. "you dense motherfucker."

"please, just accept ya've the _hugest_ crush on her." ginjima held his head in his hands, rubbing his temples as if it would soothe the pain of rintarou's denial.

"yeah, not ta mention she's so in love with ya."

"she's not."

"c'mon, she fucking told ya she's in love with ya _and_ asked you to marry her."

" _j_ _okingly_ ," he reinforced, swatting osamu's rationality out of his face.

atsumu slammed his palms onto the table and his friends flinched. "'m gonna beat 'im up." he sprang from his seat with clenched fists, ready to smack as much sense as necessary into a dense wall.

osamu tugged him back down. "'tsumu, wait." 

"why dontcha just tell her?" ginjima interrupted the brewing cat-fight between the twins. "are'ya afraid? 'cause she very clearly only has eyes for you."

"she's like that with everyone."

"she's not, though?"

"she said atsumu was a rainbow and i'm black and white. whatever that means."

atsumu loosened his grip on his brother's neck at the mention of his name. a natural smirk spread on his lips. "oh, i didn't know i was the rival love interest here."

"shut up, dipshit."

"make me, fuckwit."

"listen, if [nickname]-chan—stop it!" osamu dug his elbow into atsumu's gut. "if [nickname]-chan liked this fuckin' idiot, she woulda given him a bouquet."

"what's flowers gotta do with anythin'?"

rintarou sighed, "she gave us flowers for spring day."

"and i didn't get any?!"

"see, she don't even give him fruit."

"she's playing hard to get."

atsumu's fist hesitated between his brother and rintarou. it landed beside his tray of food and sent rice flying. "she don't need to when yer this fucking in denial. now, go get 'er before i hurt ya."

"i'm sidin' with 'tsumu."

"no, yeah, s'painful to see."

"fine, whatever, i'll talk to her."

 **the plan had** been from the start to bring color into a dull world like suna rintarou's. in a life where everyone around her boasted different, vibrant hues, rintarou's black and white demeanor brought fresh oxygen. from his blank face to his personality, shades of grey slowly became a favorite of hers.

rintarou becoming a favorite of hers as well was not meant to happen. 

after every single one of her hints whizzing past his head, barely grazing wisps of his hair, it was that same grey the one that didn't let her differentiate between density and rejection. as she returned home, her friends' groupchat flooded with _he's dumb_ over and over.

shijiki hugged her tightly for comfort while the rest of her circle showered her with chocolate and friendship. she laughed the absurdity away during the ten days of spring break. teacher and student parted like she had originally intended.

when rintarou spontaneously showed up at their classroom door, shijiki's eyes landed on him before anyone else. her glare transformed into piercing knives and she prepared to fight an athlete.

"[name], hey," she called for her friend, her elbow nudging her side. "didntcha say you were done with suna-san?"

the girls at the table blinked in disbelief. [name] quirked a brow. "yeah, ya know that. why?"

shijiki motioned towards the opened door with a glower furrowing her brows. "why's he here?"

[name] followed her line of sight to find rintarou shifting awkwardly on his feet, as if the doorframe repelled him like a boundary. the instinctive smile that bloomed on her face betrayed her instantly.

he invited himself inside, calling, "[name]," as he nodded.

"rintarou, can i help ya?"

a sigh slipped past his lips. "can we talk?" he threw a quick glance at shijiki to hopefully get his point across. shijiki stood seconds away from punching his nose. " _privately_."

if [name] hadn't spoken up, rintarou would've suffered her wrath. "oh, sure," she replied softly, voice sunny and eager to hear his again. her legs struggled to untangle from shijiki's.

outside the bustling classroom and idly standing on the desolate hallway, [name] beamed at her reflection in his moral yellow eyes. eyes that darted everywhere but into her own. she kept both her hopes and head up high.

"i got used to your colors, you know?"

"well, that's somethin'. what brought this on?"

"peer pressure." he rolled his eyes. "but i like your colors in my world."

[name] chortled, shoulder bouncing. she reached for the collar of his shirt and smoothed out invisible creases. "you don't needa talk like me ta say these things. i can be straightforward when i want to. so ya like me?"

"yeah."

"and ya wanna spend time with me?"

"yeah, that's right." rintarou nodded.

"ya know, the rainbow's seven colors an' all the bits in-between." her palms slid to his shoulders to drum a made-up beat with black nails. "that's pretty fun, but yer even better. 'cause white's the mix of every color, and black's none of them. and yer all black an' white and everythin' in-between."

his fingers looped loosely around her wrists. his touch tingled tenderly cool on her skin. "that's not very straightforward," he chuckled.

"d'ya want my straightforwardness right now?"

"that'd be great."

she slipped her hands into his own, wrapping and hooking warmly around his fingers. a weightless sigh drifted into the silence. "i like ya a lot, rintarou, i really like ya so much. i'll go as far as to say yer the most unique person i've met, y'know? how wouldja like goin' out with me?"

"we're already married." brows raised and eyes sparkling, he offered her a sweet simper. he guided her into his pocket.

her jaw unhinged into a glimmering grin at the feeling of his stone. she pulled it out to admire it against the sunlight pouring in from the windows. "can't believe ya kept this!"

"it's a first for me to get confessed to with a proposal."

"ya kiddin'? it took ya weeks to figure that out?"

"honestly, i wouldn't have if the guys hadn't threatened me."

"oh, bless 'em. i gotta start givin' 'tsumu-kun some fruit."

a grimace scrawled over his face. "maybe don't."

[name] bubbled with laughter, and it was that melodic laughter at the top of his list. her arms snaked around his shoulders and behind his neck as she tugged him into a hug. his own hands linked behind her waist.

rintarou fluttered his eyes closed to drown in her perfume. vanilla and almond and simply [name]. he could get used to her dilating pupils, her nonsense babbling, and the way his fingers didn't quite fit in hers. nothing ever quite fit with her.

"may i now kiss the bride?" he muttered into her neck.

a snort darted out of her mouth. "easy, friend," she giggled brightly before planting a silky peck on his cheek. "ya'll walk me home, right?"

he sighed, "i guess…"

she rolled her eyes, pulling away from the hug to shove him playfully. their smiles mirrored one another. "love ya, too. see ya." her fingers waved, her pitch black nails soaked in the sunshine.

"see you." he gave her a swift nod as she disappeared into the classroom. cherry blossoms meant new beginnings.

**_[bonus]_ **

**bitterweet:** it's the color of rejection

**"suna-san!"**

thundering footsteps behind him brought suna to a halt on his way back to the cafeteria. he turned his torso backwards, eyes narrowed and brow quirked as he stared down the hallway at the fuming beast rushing to him. he'd forgotten her shrill voice over the course of the months.

fingers fiddling with the stone in his pocket, he met her scalding scowl burning a hole on his face. "shijiki?"

"ya better watch it, _pretty boy_."

shijiki's byzantium nail—clearly the same nailpolish as [name]'s—stood millimeters away from his nose. she would've slashed his skin open if he hadn't recoiled on instinct.

"i been with [name] fer _far_ longer than you. i don't understand _why_ she chose ya. i don't get what it's about ya that she likes so much." her palms waved in the air, bracelets tinkling, swinging back and forth. "she even—she even said yer colorless! so _why_? she said i'm bittersweet, this super pretty color, and i still ain't better than you?!"

suna held back the grimace twisting his face to pretend his eardrums weren't suffering. "it's because i'm colorless that she likes me. two of a kind, _black an' white ain't bad_. her words, not mine." his shrug was natural yet careful of not stepping on a landmine.

"what's that even mean? i don't get her!"

"that makes two of us."

"don't!" shijiki screeched. suna flinched. "i ain't like you! do _not_ lump me in with ya! you didn't even _try_ ta understand her, you just—! you—! i don't even know whatcha did for her!"

"i just went with it, i guess. she figured things out on her own."

the sickening growl crawling out from her throat stung concerningly into his ears. "whatever! you better watch it, for real. f'ya do anythin' to her, i'll snatch her right outta yer hands and _then_ destroy you." her fist clenched too tight to be safe; the skin of her palm surely broke.

"i'll hold you to that."

"ya better take care of 'er."

"i will."

"i hate this, i don't want this. i tried _so_ hard ta get her attention, but she was always lookin' at ya an' flunkin' math and sayin' _suna-kun, suna-kun, ahahaha!_ " the tears gathering at the corner of her eyes made suna whisper out a sigh. "if yer black an' white, and i've color, why'd she choose you?!" her voice cracked and trembled.

"what color is bittersweet?"

she sniffled to recompose herself. "a really pretty soft color, i dunno, what's it to ya?"

"is it magenta or something like that?"

"what? no, s'like a… i dunno… peachy color from the crayola crayons set."

"oh, so it's crayola." he couldn't help but visibly grimace this time. [name] didn't hold back when throwing abstract nonsense at people to figure out.

"yeah, what 'bout it?"

it wasn't his place to tell her. then again, he himself got threatened into understanding the words [name] threw at him. "[name] doesn't like crayola colors."

silence boiled and swam through the hallways. shijiki froze in place, tears disappearing in invisible droplets down her chin. her lips quivered as incomplete words choked out in shock. if her palms hadn't split open before, now blood was waiting to trickle onto the ground.

suna shifted awkwardly on his feet. "sorry, shijiki, seems like she rejected you long ago." he hesitated with words—just in case she had the courage to pounce on him and snap his neck. 

her fingers—free of blood, fortunately—hooked around the collar of his shirt. nonexistent creases [name] had smoothed out resurfaced. "watch it, _pretty boy_ ," shijiki growled through gritted teeth. "remember that [name] don't stick to one place _ever_. she'll get bored of ya real quick." she shoved him away, glower stabbing daggers into his neck.

her eyes could never compare to [name]'s in intensity. she held her glare while biting the inside of her cheek. there were no more words she could say; all was done. shijiki swerved on her heels to storm down the hallway, scrambling away to the bathroom.

suna whistled to himself as he resumed his trip to the cafeteria. " _salty_ …" although maybe he deserved it. not everyone got threatened twice in a day by different people.


	30. [name]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first, you can go back to the previous chapter and read a lil' bonus i added for shijiki

**the clouds were** painted a soft gainsboro, dotting the landscape as far as the eye could see. golden rays of sun showered down on the last minutes of their third year of high-school. diplomas wrapped in their palms and fingers intertwined; her fingers drummed on the back of his hand, her thumb didn't sit still as it fought with his.

her hands and her fingers and her touch that moulded nicely to his yet not quite perfectly. as she flowed and floated, nothing ever fit perfectly in her hands. someone that came and went as she pleased, and everything around her was supposed to let her go do her own thing—including rintarou.

the guitar she fumbled with clumsily yet played something nice. the crate of plug plants full of life waiting to grow that she struggled to balance. the volleyball she held for only a few seconds before passing it to him. the cat that she petted and gave a name to, only to later die without warning. the candy she ate less than half of because she split it to share with her friend and a classmate. the fruit she packed as a gift for others to enjoy. the book she was reading but quickly got bored of. the umbrella she sometimes used and other times preferred to shower under the rain. the different flowers she bought for everyone but herself.

at the end of the day, even rintarou's own hand; a smooth match although not made in heaven, reminding them they were together yet in a second they might not be anymore. and that was okay, too. changes happened often.

grip tightening around her restless thumb, he painted a slanted, amused smile on his lips. [name] twisted her arm to keep him from bending her bones unnaturally. "i give, i give!"

laughter bubbled as he released her. a mischevious snicker and sunny giggles. she bumped her shoulder into his and he tumbled a few steps to the side.

up ahead— _stayin' away from the lovey-dovey shit_ , as per atsumu's eloquent words—the twins grabbed at each other's hands to mimic the couple behind them. ginjima heaved a sigh, rubbing his temples with his fingers, eyes burning after crying. atsumu screeched when osamu popped all his knuckles simultaneously.

[name] chortled at the scene, still somehow finding their stupidity hilarious even after spending a whole year with them. her hand snaked its way back into his. he welcomed it as they clicked in place together warmly.

a few steps behind, [name]'s closest friends trudged along with tears and comforting pats. shijiki bawled at the top of her lungs, possibly even louder than atsumu had ever screamed.

rintarou cringed to himself. "you should really do something about her."

"let 'er cry, she has rights."

"i'm surprised _you_ didn't cry."

[name] giggled, shoulders bouncing. "i think we already had this conversation."

they crossed the school gates to exit the scene of their high-school careers. by the nyanza leaves during summer, lying in the stead of a cat's demise, coquelicot poppies basked in the beauty of their full bloom. rintarou side-eyed the blanket of petals for a brief second; [name] didn't bother even glancing at them.

a chuckle fell from his lips. "yeah, you're not big on memories."

"we don't need 'em." she turned to meet his moral yellow eyes. he didn't flinch, already used to those dilating, sharp pupils. "f'ya look back, ya trip." a soft, thin simper decorated her features.

"you can stop moving."

"then what's the point in walkin'? yer wastin' time like that. chop-chop, darlin'."

"i can't keep up with you," he pushed out a sigh. his head shook slightly.

"yer gettin' better. ya'll get there someday."

his fingers did a round of drumming on the back of her hand. she instinctively replied with two.

"where are you headed now?"

"'m thinkin' 'bout majoring in psychology, see where that takes me." a shrug bounced off her shoulders. she would be fine. she moulded to anything and anything moulded to her. "how 'bout ya?"

"i'm going pro, i guess."

"an' i thought i could stop cheerin' after my high-school days were over."

"no one's forcing you."

it was that laughter he loved again; a rock scraping against concrete to kickstart genuine cackles. "yer far more needy than ya give yerself credit for, rin."

"you're one to talk."

"i'm not? between you and me, i ain't the one who thinks pda'll make me stop talkin' to 'tsumu mid-convo."

"you got me there."

atsumu whipped around at the mention of his name. rintarou rolled his eyes before he had a chance to speak. "i see ya, sunarin, fuck you!" [name] chortled, nudging his gut with her elbow. "we're goin' for yakiniku, y'all comin'?"

[name] bit the inside of her cheek as she fought back a guilty grin. her lips smacked. "i promised the girls i'd hang out with 'em." a hum vibrated from the back of his throat and he squeezed her hand. "oh, c'mon, rin."

his head dove into her neck, forehead landing on her shoulder. [name] tripped to a stop at the unexpected weight pulling her down. vibrating with laughter, she pressed her free hand against his chest so he wouldn't come crashing down on her. rintarou sighed in contentment, inhaling the sweet perfume of chamomile he had gifted her for her birthday.

"see? yer clingy." he didn't like the blunt truths rolling off her tongue. she managed to shove his incredibly heavy body off of her. "go hang out with 'em. misa-chan's in need of emotional support anyway." his lips curved down, unamused at her nodding towards her friend.

face puce and swollen, shijiki bawled her eyes out onto her friends' blazer, dampening them with salty tears. "'m gonna miss ya guys so much!" among the incoherent hiccups, some words actually made sense. if it was a scene meant for rintarou to pity, it wasn't working. shijiki almost decked him in a hallway.

his attention darted back to [name] when she squeezed his hand. "i'll drop by yer house later, hm? see ya." her lips caught his for a brief second. the taste of her cherry lip-balm was always his favorite part, yet it never lasted long enough.

she waved her fingers out of habit, rehearsing the smile she would wear to soothe shijiki's troubles away. she forgot her hand in his and he tugged her back into him before she could leave for the afternoon.

"[name]," he called in a low mumble. she hummed in response, eyes gazing into his. "i don't think i ever answered your question."

she tilted her head, hair swaying, teeth chewing at her lip in thought. "which one…?"

"what my favorite color is."

"ah, ya don't hafta. i can't even answer that for—"

"it's you."

"huh?" her brows shot into her forehead. with dilated pupils, swallowing him like a black hole, she blinked inconsistently. pins and needles that pierced into him.

"my favorite color is you, [name]."

her blinking died into a wide-eyed stare and mouth agape. mannerisms and expression he had picked up from her processed in her brain with utmost delicacy, careful to break them apart to their very core and find the bits of her ingrained in him. her gaze softened into pure adoration for a dense, colorless boy.

long, byzantium nails grazed past his cheek and delicate fingers cradled the side of his face. he settled his own palm behind her neck to bring her closer. placing her lips upon his, they shared a weightless kiss coated in cherry and youth. she couldn't help the chuckle that rumbled between them at his eagerness.

rintarou pressed his forehead against hers when she pulled away, breaths even but out of sync. [name] slipped from his hold before he could steal another kiss from her. one kiss was too little, but two kisses were beyond enough.

"don't miss me too much." [name] grinned at him with glistening teeth, fingers waving a short goodbye.

"oh, come on, i thought that would work."

their laughter blended into one another's, harmonious, one transitioning sweetly into the other. she pushed him with both palms pressing flat on his back to get his feet moving. he threw a glance over his shoulder, nodding his head at her waving hand.

"see you."

"see ya."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading. it was a wild ride, fluff is not my forte, let alone slow burn. but it's good you enjoyed it. thanks for your support and your comments and your kudos.
> 
> have a good day, kids.


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